The Vaniville Voyage Adventures
by Akirys
Summary: Two starters, a Bulbasaur and a Fennekin, break free from their shelter and go off on a wild, Trainerless journey to collect every badge in Kalos. Completed for NaNoWriMo 2015.
1. Two Best Buds

**A/N: Surprise! You have walked into my very first NaNoWriMo story, and there's no escaping now!**

 **So like many of you know, NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month. I have to finish this by the end of November, and it has to be over fifty thousand words. It'll be one heck of a ride, but I believe in me! Sort of.**

 **Right then, no time to waste: let's get this show on the road.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. Oh, and I SWEAR I'm not ripping off the Starter Squad; I thought of this idea first and then was very surprised when I found something so similar on YouTube. You believe me, right?**

~*Q*~

Make no mistake, the Vaniville Starter Center wasn't a bad place. The staff let the Pokemon have free rein of the fenced-in pastures almost 24/7. Flowers and grass covered the ground, with ponds dotted here and there for those who liked to swim. The Fire-types had had many an accident where somebody or other ended up falling in, but there was an indoor sauna, off-limits to humans, that dried them off if it was an emergency. Even the main building itself looked nice. Its red-brick walls and signs picturing smiling Pokemon were incredibly enticing to the young Trainers who wished to get a starter. Many nine- or ten-year-olds had spent their days gazing longingly into the pastures and wishing that the volunteer opportunities to take care of the Pokemon weren't already booked. Which they were, invariably.

The Starter Center - or VSC, as the locals called it - had started when a mild nationwide panic arose over how few "starter" Pokemon there were. These Pokemon were labeled starters because they each fit criteria that made them incredibly fit to start a young person off on their journey. They were all at least either Fire, Grass or Water type; they started out small and harmless but could grow to huge proportions; and they evolved twice, but at very specific times that almost assured that the Trainer would be strong enough to handle them. Because of the high demand - rumor had it that a professor of a faraway region had been imprisoned for illegally hiring poachers - the starters began to die out. Soon they were nearly impossible to find anywhere in the wild. Trainers flocked to the Friend Safari in Kiloude, but the safari horded their Ivysaur, Wartortle, and Charmeleon jealously. Several trainers were told to make friends first and come back later.

And so the VSC was started to protect this rare group. It was stuck in development for several years as the owners went out on a quest to collect at least two of each starter Pokemon. After eighteen months, with heavy promotion from Professor Sycamore, they managed to collect full sets of starters from Kalos, Kanto, Johto, and at least a dozen other regions. A year later, the Vaniville Starter Center opened its doors with a wide collection of starters to be applied for. It served double duty as a shelter for the starters as they waited for their future trainers to claim them, and a breeding center to keep the species alive. (Thankfully, these two functions were carried out in two different locations. Although they were both somewhere south of Vaniville, this kept things from getting...awkward.)

A shelter, a wide-open pasture, and a promise of Trainers to love them. Sounds like paradise for a Pokemon, right? Well, it was...for the most part. Every flock has a few black Mareep, and two Pokemon - a Bulbasaur and a Fennekin - were the resident black Mareep of the Vaniville Starter Center.

The Fennekin, Tochi, had been named by a Totodile who had declared it his life's work to properly name every "Species-Name-Dash-Number-And-A-Letter." He called Fennekin-38A after the Kantoan word for 'torch.' Tochi, like his name, was fiery but slow-burning. He was talkative and opinionated, with an ability to hold a grudge that was nearly unmatched, but he held a pessimistic look on life that sharply contrasted with his fluffy face and hyperactive demeanor. Constantly straddling the line between impatient and engaged, he took everything with a gloomy snark at life. Most Pokemon chose to avoid him, but Tochi was fine with that. He had one friend, and that was all that mattered.

No one really knew how the Totodile naming wizard had discovered Sepal's name. Sepal himself seemed to know, but he never elaborated past "it's the Unovan word for a part of a flower."

The Bulbasaur was like a lazy sun. Day after day he was content to lie in a sunny patch, always willing to strike up a conversation but never the one to initiate it. He was happy, and that was all that mattered to him. Sepal liked to think of himself as a philosopher, but being a young Pokemon hatched in a small-town breeding center, he wasn't wise or even particularly clever. He could contemplate a single question for hours, though, and he had such tenacity that he could convince someone that the moon was blue if he really wanted.

The two of them had met when they were young. Tochi had tripped over Sepal as the Fennekin was fleeing a couple of Water-types. Knowing that the sauna could dry off any "accidents," they had taken it upon themselves to give each new Fire-type an "initiation" by dumping them in a pond. The Water-types didn't mean any harm, really - a Squirtle had sworn to them that it would get rid of a Fire-type's weakness - but Sepal wouldn't have any of that. Without even standing up, he lashed out with a scathing speech on how they were potentially ruining dozens of innocent lives, and promptly fell back asleep. The Water-types were horrorstruck. Tochi decided to hang around the Bulbasaur more often.

These days, it was more Tochi who acted as the ringleader. Sepal was content to go along with whatever he was scheming. Their usual daily schedule. however, consisted of standing in a particular spot by the fence and doing absolutely nothing. Until one day, that is.

"Sepal."

"Mm?"

"You ever get tired of this place?"

"No." Sepal rolled over.

"I mean -" Tochi flicked his ears. "Don't you ever want to see something new?"

"No."

"Why not?" Usually Tochi respected his friend's innate laziness, but today he was feeling extra impatient.

Sepal took a while to answer, as usual. "The sun doesn't stop feeling warm. But when it's winter, I go inside."

Tochi rolled his eyes. "Don't you want to know what the sun feels like outside the pasture?"

"I mean, that'd be cool. Or not. It'd be warm."

"Look, Sepal…" Tochi started to pace back and forth. A small groove had already been carved in the dirt from the sheer number of times he had paced there. "I've been thinking. I...I want to leave here."

"You'll probably have to stop scaring away the Trainers, then," Sepal remarked. Whenever a new kid came to choose a Pokemon, Tochi would judge him or her with a cynical eye and flat-out refuse to go near them if they didn't meet his standards. Meanwhile, Sepal would be dozing off somewhere.

"No! Not with a Trainer. I just wanna leave. I want to escape. There, I said it."

"Escape?" Sepal raised his head. "Where to?"

"I dunno…Vaniville?"

"They'd find you."

"The forest, then."

"Hm."

"What?" Tochi hopped from paw to paw. "Would it work?"

"Maybe."

"'Maybe?' You're right. There's not many berries in Santalune Forest I'd have to compete with the wild Pokemon for them, it'd be freezing in winter, Trainers looking for Pokemon are going through there all the time, I could get poisoned or paralyzed with no way to get better…All right, not the forest. I'd have - that's it!" Sepal didn't say anything, so he continued anyways. "I'd have to get stronger! I wouldn't stop in the forest, I'd go all the way to Santalune! And then I could beat the gym leader and then go on to the next city!"

Sepal frowned. "Tochi, you're not talking about the gym circuit, are you?"

"The gym circuit! That's a great idea."

"Tochi, we're Pokemon. Only humans can be Trainers."

"Says who?" Tochi said stubbornly. "Pokemon do all the work anyways. And I sure don't need a Trainer directing my every move on the field."

"But you could get injured," Sepal objected. "Or run into a Water-type…"

Tochi was stumped for a second. Then he got a wicked gleam in his eye. "Or...you could come with!"

"...okay."

"Come on, it's a gre - wait, really?"

Sepal hauled himself to his feet. "I know you. You'll go anyways."

"Sepal, of course I am. Just think about it. Life sucks, so why waste it in a tiny enclosure, waiting to be picked off like Rattata in a Pidgeotto cage? We're Pokemon! We need to get out, see the world, live life." Tochi got a glimmer in his eyes. "Maybe even...evolve."

"You make it seem like we're in jail," Sepal commented. "It's our home, and it's not my fault that you've already ran the perimeters thirty-seven times."

"...you counted?"

"The point is, I'll miss you if you leave, and I'd never stop worrying about what you're doing. I don't really get why you have to leave, but I'll go with you. I gotta -" Sepal yawned. "Gotta protect my friend, right?"

Tochi tackled him in a hug. "Thank you!"

"We'll start planning and stuff tomorrow," Sepal decided. "And also, now you gotta call me Trainer."

"No way!"

"Kidding." Sepal grinned. "So, how are you going to get past the fence…?"

~*Q*~

 **A/N An important thing you should know: this story will have lots of character development, in addition to adventure and (hopefully) humor. Remember that the rules of NaNoWriMo basically require you to hammer stuff out without worrying about editing. Feel free to critique me, and maybe I'll polish this story up in December!**

 **Thanks for sticking around! Be sure to leave a review...that'd be nice, I mean.**

 **~*Akirys*~**


	2. The Fence From The Depths Of Heck

**A/N: Another chapter, right on schedule! I do hope you guys read and enjoy. I'm meeting the words-a-day quota for now, but I'm gonna need lots of encouragement. XD**

~*Q*~

It was all set. The plan was insane yet simple: wait until dark, rappel up the fence, jump down the other side, and flee into the forest before anyone saw them.

The plan for Tochi and Sepal to escape had taken far, far longer to orchestrate than they originally thought. For one thing, it required a key element: Sepal's Vine Whip, which would be used to hoist Tochi over the fence and have him melt a hole in it from the outside. The only problem was that, while Tochi could use Fire attacks almost from birth, Sepal's Vine Whip was nonexistent. It took two weeks for Sepal to find time to practice without anyone noticing, and "practice" consisted of uncontrollable flailing. Pokemon would wake in the morning and notice randomly uprooted flowers or big holes in the dirt, although no one connected the events to the seeming-innocent Sepal.

"Is this necessary?" the Bulbasaur wondered one night. Tochi had stayed up to coach him, and the two were hidden inside the indoor cages used to hold the Pokemon during the winter. The rest of the shelter's residents were scattered around the facilities; however, most of them chose to sleep outside under the stars. At this time of year - summer - the weather was too nice to pass up.

"Yes," Tochi confirmed. "Try harder!"

Sepal's feeble little vines stretched out of his back. They were still too short to reach the apple that Tochi had placed on top of a barrel.

"I guess I'm broken," Sepal decided. "Oh well. Goodnight."

"Sepal!" Tochi flicked his ears irritably. "If you can't do this, we can't get over the fence!"

"I'm not strong enough," Sepal insisted. "They measured my level a few weeks ago. I was only a 7."

"Levels, huh…I know! Sepal, hit me!"

"...What?"

"Do it!"

Sepal just looked at him. "You really are serious about escaping this place."

"Have we not established that? Hit me!"

Sepal Growled.

"Dude, I'm not going to be attacking."

"I don't wanna," Sepal mumbled.

"I'm fine. I'm a Pokemon. We're all resilient."

The Bulbasaur kept hesitating.

"Sepal, if you don't -"

"Fine!" Sepal waddled over to him and lightly butted his head against Tochi's leg. The Fennekin was suddenly overcome with a wave of exhaustion, and he toppled over.

"What…" Tochi croaked. He suddenly became aware that Sepal was stifling a chuckle. "What'd you do?!"

"Leech Seed," Sepal tittered, brushing a small brown seed off of Tochi's flank. "I got you!"

"Hey! That's unsportsmonlike."

"You wanted it." Sepal helped haul Tochi to his paws.

"How about it?" Tochi asked. "Do you feel stronger?"

"Maybe a little." Sepal experimentally waved his vines around. "Kinda."

Tochi nodded. "It'll have to do. We'll leave tomorrow night."

"That soon?"

"The humans say the weather is supposed to rain all tomorrow. We'll only have to worry about the Water-types spotting us!"

Sepal nodded in agreement. "You know, Tochi. I think I might be feeling...excited?"

Tochi smiled wickedly. "Good."

~*Q*~

The next day was a blur. It was thankful that Tochi was a loner by nature, or else he would've given his plan away to the first Pokemon he opened his mouth to. It was Aspear Berry Day, his favorite, and yet he could hardly eat a bite.

Sepal was just as laid-back as usual. An occasional twitch of his back legs were the only things that gave away his nervousness; otherwise he kept to himself, dozing in a corner as the rain poured down outside.

Day melded seamlessly into night. The stormy clouds prevented anyone from seeing the sun go down, but one by one the Pokemon retired to warmer, drier indoor shelters to sleep. Only a few of the Water-types - mostly Mudkip and Froakie - plodded outdoors to their usual spots. And, of course, a Fennekin and a Bulbasaur slipped out and followed the perimeter of the fence.

"Here," Tochi whispered, once they had reached the farthest corner. The drumming rain hid their voices, but he took no chances. A crackle of lightning made him flinch. "Do it!"

Sepal extended his vines and carefully wrapped up Tochi. "Please don't burn me."

"As long as you don't drop me, you'll be fine."

The Bulbasaur began to struggle to lift Tochi. It was a difficult endeavor; the fence had been specifically designed to contain a horde of restless Pokemon. There was see-through chain link extending up ten feet, but five feet beyond that was a solid wall of slippery metal. The entire thing was coated with a rubbery, fireproof material; thankfully, the stuff was so costly that only the interior was covered. Once Tochi was free, he could burn a hole from the outside in.

Tochi was heavy - at least twenty pounds, which was even more than Sepal weighed himself. However, Sepal was almost half a foot taller, and he wasn't a Pokemon for nothing. With strength that would be astounding for a human, he managed to extend his vines all the way up. Tochi wobbled dangerously in the vine's grip, and it was with great relief that he hung onto the top.

"All right?" Sepal whispered up.

Whatever Tochi responded was drowned out by another crash of thunder, followed by a lightning bolt. For a split second, the very obvious figure of a wet fox clinging to a fence fifteen feet above the ground was lit up for the world to see. Tochi panicked. "Get me down, quick!"

Getting him down on the other side was harder because Sepal couldn't see what he was doing. He was pretty sure he smacked Tochi into the fence a few times. Added to that, his vines capped out at about twenty feet, and they shuddered and dropped Tochi when he was still high above the earth. There was a scream that the rain didn't quite cover, followed by a muddy splat.

Sepal stumbled to the fence. He could see Tochi lying motionless through the chain link. He almost panicked, but sighed in relief when he saw the Fennekin's ear twitch. That is, until Tochi hissed: "Caretaker! Run!"

He didn't doubt the fox Pokemon's keen hearing. Sepal staggered away from the fence, reeling his vines in like fishing rods, and tried to make as much noise as possible to prevent the human - Damian, it seemed, the one who usually closed up for the night - from catching sight of Tochi. Just before the human got within ten feet, Sepal flopped to the ground and rolled over, pretending that he had just been groggily awoken.

"Hey, Bulbasaur," Damian whispered. "What're you doing sleeping out here, huh? Let's get you a nice warm bed."

He scooped Sepal into his arms, but he kicked and struggled. "Bulba!"

Damian hesitated. "You like it out here? Well...I guess, as long as you're okay with it. Be sure to come inside if it gets too cold." He gave Sepal a friendly pat and retreated.

The Bulbasaur waited until he was sure the human was gone before rolling back to his feet. He whispered into the air: "All clear," too afraid to approach the fence in case someone was still watching him. He knew Tochi would hear him.

A few seconds passed, and then a small flame lit up the night and slowly began to melt the bars. Sepal shuffled to the side, hoping to hide the light from the Pokemon near the house.

But the melting metal caused an unintentional side-effect: acrid smoke that started drifting into the air. Sepal tried his hardest to dredge up an ancestral memory of Sweet Scent, to counter the odor, but it was no use. All he could do was stand there like a Stantler in the headlights and hope that nobody noticed. If they did, he hoped that yelling "Sorry!" would work.

It took hours of hot, dangerous work - or more likely, it was just a few very, very long minutes. Finally, Sepal heard Tochi's muffled voice. "We've got a problem."

Sepal trotted over. He couldn't see a hole, but then he realized that the fireproof coating had done its job. The bars had melted, but the rubbery substance stayed in place, creating a thin facsimile of the original chain-link fence. Tochi was trying to chew through it to no avail.

"That's bad." Sepal got a grip on it with his teeth and pulled, but if tiny, sharp canines couldn't do it, he had no chance. "You might have to leave without me."

"No!" Tochi ripped at the fence angrily. "I changed my mind! I can't do this alone!"

"What're you doing?"

Both of them jumped. Tochi let go of the fence and fell into the mud again.

A Piplup had somehow snuck up to them and was watching them curiously. Sepal vaguely recognized her; she was one of the newest arrivals. A big fuss had been created because her feathers were a slightly paler shade than usual - Sepal had no idea why it mattered, but apparently, it was a big, rare deal.

"Nothing!" Tochi lied. "I'm a wild Pokemon."

The Piplup merely waddled closer to the fence. "...That you, Tochi?"

"Maybe," he said sullenly. "I recognize you. Isn't your name Bub?"

Bub swelled up indignantly. "It's Bubbles!"

"It's Bub," Sepal confirmed. Bub sighed.

"Not my fault that Totodile didn't hear the name I said I wanted." She perked up suddenly. "Hey! I can blackmail you guys into calling me Bubbles! That's how it works, right?"

"Blackmail us?" Tochi scoffed. "You?"

"Mhm." Bub nodded earnestly. "Pokemon'll come running if I scream. And I'm stronger than I look. I knew how to Drill Peck and Yawn at things when I was barely out of an egg!"

"Hooray for you," Tochi said. "Listen, we should really get go -"

"Bubbles," Sepal said suddenly. "You said you knew Drill Peck?"

"That's right!" Bub looked pleased.

"Well, can you break through this fence?"

"Depends. Can I come with you?"

Tochi had a look on his face like he'd swallowed a Rabuta Berry, but he nodded. "Fine. Hurry!"

Bub approached the fence with the air of an expert appraising goods. She shook her head several times, and her beak began to elongate and glow white. She was barely able to aim it, but she managed to jab at the fence several times before she fell over and got her beak stuck in the dirt. The fireproof rubber was shredded like tissue paper, and Sepal squeezed through the hole.

"Awesome," Tochi said. "Now let's -"

"What's that smell?" a voice called. Some of the other Pokemon were beginning to wake up. "Is something burning?"

Tochi's eyes widened. "Bub, move!"

The Piplup staggered to her feet. "Wait - wait, now?"

"Of course now! They're onto us!"

"But I can't just leave everyone behind…"

"Fine!" Tochi was already backing deeper into the surrounding forest, pulling at Sepal to move faster. "We gotta go. It's now or never."

"I -" Bub's eyes were wide with fear. She bolted back into the pasture, presumably to where life was safer and Pokemon didn't have to make life-changing decisions.

"So much for her," Tochi said. "Come on, Sepal. We're officially fugitives."

Sepal plodded after him at a slightly quicker pace than usual. "Will we ever see her again?"

"Nope. We don't know what we'll find from here on out."

~*Q*~

 **A/N: Woo, suspenseful! Leave a review if you have any thoughts. Are you guys liking Tochi and Sepal? They are my beloved OCs, and so I will develop the** ** _heck_** **out of them. You know, since it's so early, I don't have much of the plot hashed out beyond the basics. If you guys wanted to give me suggestions for Pokemon or OCs to include, I'll consider them...**

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **~*Akirys*~**


	3. A Battle and Lots of Running

**A/N: Wow, I don't know how many of you saw it, but the first uploading of this chapter was a MESS! One solid block of text. I'm very sorry to anyone who saw that. I hope it's been corrected.**

~*Q*~

The sky began to lighten.

"Finally," Sepal murmured. "Can we take a break?"

"Mm m." Tochi made a negative sound as he forged ahead. "We gotta keep moving." Sepal stood his ground, in the hopes that Tochi would stop and wait for him to catch up, but when he didn't seem to notice, Sepal sighed and kept trudging along.

The sun kept rising, though the thick trees of the forest blocked most of the light. The Vaniville Starter Center did have a clean path leading straight to Vaniville, but both Pokemon had decided it was safest to stay hidden.

"You know, what if we already passed Vaniville?" Tochi remarked. "What if we're just wandering around in circles and we get lost in these woods forever?"

"Thanks."

"Just being realistic."

"That's pessimism, not realism."

"I -" Tochi pricked his ears. "I hear something! Come on!" He tore off, leaving Sepal to do his best to catch up.

What Tochi had heard was the chatter of human voices. The Fennekin dragged Sepal towards the edge of the forest, and they crouched and watched as humans walked around a big, pretty square decorated with flowers.

"Is this the whole town?" Tochi said. "It's smaller than I thought." He was disappointed, but Sepal was captivated. He started to edge into the open, but Tochi noticed just in time.

"Hey!" he scolded. "We're fugitives, remember?"

"Oh."

"We'll stop here for a break, but then we have to go straight to Santalune, understand?"

"Fine," Sepal said, deflating. "Can I sit in the sunshine for a while?"

"No can do." Tochi was already on the move. He slipped underneath bushes and went out of his way to hide behind trees, which looked impressive - like a spy movie - even if caused quite a racket.

Sepal followed reluctantly. "Tochi, they probably still assume we're sleeping somewhere."

"Or that Piplup could have ratted us out!" Tochi quickened his pace just thinking about it. "If anyone sees us, we're doomed. Think of it like a stealthy video game. Except with only one life."

"What's a video game?"

"Uh…" A lengthy explanation ensued.

Vaniville was an incredibly tiny town, so it didn't take long for the two to skirt the entire lefthand perimeter. Tochi was just beginning to describe the time he'd knocked a video game from a little kid's backpack (when it came to games, he tended to ramble) when Sepal nudged him.

"And let me tell you, it's really hard to push the buttons when all you have are paws, but - huh? What is it?"

"Route One." Sepal indicated it with his head.

The good news: they had safely passed through Vaniville and made to to the very first route. The bad news: the forest surrounding the path was crawling with humans. Most of them were tinkering around with the bushes and trees.

"They're gardeners," Sepal said. "They're trying to make the route look nice."

"Well, that's just great." Tochi looked frustrated. "How will we get past them? We don't know how far we'd have to go to walk around them."

"They're only in the forest; we can go straight down the middle of the path."

Tochi was horrified. "We'll be seen!"

"Only if we're not careful."

Tochi considered it for a few seconds. He was already getting jittery standing in one spot for so long.

"Okay," he decided. "Run. Straight down the center. No stops, no looking to the sides, nothing."

They scooted up as close to the humans as they dared. On Tochi's count to three, they burst out of the cover of the forest and fled down the route. The humans were all occupied in the trees, so none of them looked their way. Tochi did hear an inquiry of "Hey, did you see someth -" but by that point he and Sepal were in the safety of Aquacorde Town.

Sepal rolled over on the ground, panting. Tochi poked him. "Hey. It's okay. We're safe."

"Mommy, look! Some Pokemon!"

"RUUUUUN!"

Aquacorde was a very nice town, if one had the time to stop and appreciate it. They didn't. Residents would report later than some wild Pokemon were in the area, but they went too fast to be identified. A Pansage and a Litleo, maybe?

Whatever the case, some of the members of the town decided to keep an eye out in case they ever saw these strange Pokemon again. And that was only the beginning.

~*Q*~

"Toch."

"What."

"Will we be refugees forever?"

"I don't know. Maybe. Why?"

"If we are, it'll be hard to fight the Gym Leaders."

Tochi groaned. "I can't believe I didn't think of that! Fine, then - we might un-refugee ourselves later, but only if we need to."

"Good. Refugeeing makes my feet hurt."

Sepal and Tochi had run across the entirety of Aquacorde and then some. They were now meandering down a short stretch of grassy land that separated Aquacorde from Santalune Forest. Both of them could feel eyes watching them, which made Tochi especially uneasy. The rules of wild Pokemon hadn't applied in the Vaniville Starter Center. Here, it was anything goes.

"Hey, you!"

They flinched. A Pidgey hopped into the open and gave them a menacing glare. "Are you food?"

"No," said Tochi.

"It depends," said Sepal.

The Pidgey eyed Sepal curiously. "You're a Grass-type. I don't like vegetables."

"So, you wanna fight or what?" Tochi asked.

The Pidgey ruffled her feathers. "Trainer's Pokemon, huh? That's all they're interested in."

"I'm not trained!" Tochi objected. "I'm a free Pokemon and proud of it!"

"Yeah? So am I. But I don't go around challenging everything that moves."

"This is his first battle, actually," Sepal remarked, and Tochi shot him a look.

"Well, I'd be happy to initiate you," the Pidgey decided. "Rule one: we're wild Pokemon, so there aren't really any rules. Rule two: SNEAK ATTACK HAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

She dive-bombed Tochi and sent him to the dirt, but he rolled upright and shot an Ember into the air. The Pidgey squawked and performed a clumsy roll, but her feathers were singed.

"I'm pretty sure sneak attacks don't work if you announce them."

"Hey, who's lived here the longest, huh?!"

The Pidgey quickly proved to know only one attack: Tackle. Which admitted hurt like a sack of bricks if it connected, but Tochi deftly dodged nearly all of her attacks and returned with a barrage of fire. His long-range aim was total trash, and he ended up setting the grass on fire more times than the Ember connected, but he managed a few direct hits whenever the Pidgey homed in for a Tackle.

"Give up?" Tochi panted.

"Never! Surrender!"

The Pidgey caught him in the side one last time, but Tochi twisted with the blow and unleashed an attack that absolutely roasted her. She dropped to the ground, out for the count.

The thing about "fainting" was that it wasn't permanent, nor was is particularly damaging. All Pokemon had a natural resistance to the elements - lightning bolts, hailstorms, and gusts of dragonfire didn't do much more than temporarily blacken or bruise them; that's not to say it didn't hurt at all, though. Supereffective attacks were the most dangerous, but even they didn't permanently cripple an opponent. After fainting was another story. Blacking out was a Pokemon's body's way of saying they had reached their absolute limit. Flying was fine, and so was doing small tasks like swimming or pushing rocks around. But if a Pokemon was hit with an attack after it fainted, the damage would be comparable to a plain old human getting blasted in the face with a Dynamic Punch or an Ancientpower. Even the process of getting captured in a Poke Ball could be seriously damaging. The thing was, if a Pokemon attacked one that had already gone down, you knew the fight was for real.

Tochi was very aware of this, and so he backed waaaay up when the Pidgey collapsed. The last thing he wanted was to get branded as a blackout psychopath (as those Pokemon were often called).

The Pidgey stirred after only a few seconds. She focused on Tochi. "Good one."

"You'll be okay?" Sepal asked. Throughout the fight he had been torn between worrying over Tochi and savoring the chance to lie down and rest.

"Fine," the Pidgey said reassuringly. "There's plenty of little grottos 'round here for a Pokemon to lick their wounds. I just need food is all. But not vegetables."

"If you say so." 'Good job' was on the tip of Tochi's tongue, but he couldn't quite spit it out. "C'mon, Sepal."

"One more thing," Pidgey added as they turned to leave. "Trainers are just swarming in Santalune Forest, okay? The capture-hungry kind. You'd better be careful."

"Will do," Tochi said. "How bad could it be?"

~*Q*~

 **A/N: Rule #3: Tochi, stop tempting fate.**

 **Thanks for reading, everyone! Review if you can; they really are SUCH an encouragement. NaNoWriMo is going well so far, but I'll need all the help I can get!**

 **My ultimate goal is to have an average of at least one review per chapter. We're staying afloat so far!**

 **~*Akirys*~**


	4. Running and Lots of Battles

**~*Q*~**

The forest was bad.

Besides the young and sugar-crazed Trainers chucking Pokeballs at everything in sight, there were a _lot_ of wild Pokemon. Many of them weren't happy to see two starters wandering around unsupervised; like the Pidgey before them, they connotated unevolved starters with the newbie Trainers, and no amount of offense from Tochi could change their minds. After all, Fennekin had been seen battling alongside new Trainers for years. The Fletchling seemed to especially have it out for them. Many a family member had been captured and subjected to the fate of being evolved to a Talonflame and used as a personal mode of air transportation.

"Which sounds really neat, actually," a young Fletchling confided to Sepal. "But my mom and dad don't think so."

At first, battling wild Pokemon was a terrifying thing without a trainer. But there were so many of them that it soon lost its edge, and with it whatever charm it possessed. Tochi handled most of the battles because he had a major type advantage against most of the Pokemon they came across. The likes of Pikachu and Panpour were much rarer, but Sepal never had a problem with stepping in. All was going well, if a bit tediously - at least until Tochi was poisoned by a Weedle's lucky shot.

"Tochi!" Sepal kicked the Weedle aside as Tochi collapsed. First time being poisoned was never a pleasant thing.

"I'm fine," Tochi whimpered. "But ow...it hurts…"

"Can you stand?"

With support, the Fennekin wobbled to his feet. His breathing slowly evened out, but every so often his breath would hitch when the poison burned through his system.

Sepal knew he should know more about this. For goodness' sake, he was a Poison-type himself! But the fact was that the Bulbasaur was just as clueless in the wild as any other starter in the VSC would be. His greatest advantage was that, if he was stung by a Weedle too, he wouldn't be able to get poisoned, and so could keep taking care of Tochi. If he was paralyzed by a stray Pikachu, however…

The most he could do was support Tochi's weight and wander around in search of a cure. Cheri berries healed poison, right? No, wait - Pecha. He needed a Pecha berry.

Luckily for him, Tochi kept up a running commentary:

"It hurts...a lot...I mentioned that, right? I think I'm gonna die. I know Pokemon can only faint, but I really think I'm gonna die. I'm just one of those mutants who gets affected by stuff more than they should. Am I warm to you? I mean, more than normal? Do you think I have a fever? Or do you think it's Blaze? I always wanted to see my ability activate, but not like this...wandering around, lost and kinda hungry in a forest being dragged along by my best friend, slated to die...do you think I'm gonna die, Sepal? It's likely, right?"

"Tochi, I appreciate that this means you're going to be okay, but please shut up."

Suddenly, Tochi's ears shot up. Sepal realized what it meant a second afterwards: someone was approaching. They tried to make it into the safety of the bushes, but the human caught sight of them before they could make it very far.

The scary thing was, this human was different from the others. He was older, for one thing. He was calm. His posture was relaxed, and his Pokemon weren't running in circles around him like a newbie Trainer's would. In fact, the only one not in its Pokeball was an equally composed Riolu. He eyed Tochi and Sepal in surprise, but he didn't whip out his Pokedex, nor did he chuck a Pokeball at them. At least, not yet.

"Ignis," the Trainer said to his Pokemon. "Go!"

The Riolu, Ignis, stepped forwards. Sepal backed up, trying to find a place to set Tochi down where he wouldn't get hurt.

"Fennekin and Bulbasaur?" Ignis remarked. "Never seen you in the forest before."

"Are you here a lot?" Sepal asked. Stall for time.

He nodded. "Trainer's here with his brother. He just got his first Pokemon."

"Oh. Wonderful."

"And I have to get strong too, so I can battle. Trainer already has four badges."

"Cool…" Discreetly, Sepal shot a Leech Seed at him. It failed to take and fell to the ground, and Sepal gritted his teeth. Why now!

"Ignis?" the Trainer coached. "Quick Attack!"

The Riolu blurred into motion and smacked into Sepal. He fell backwards, but he also managed to stick a Leech Seed onto him.

"Listen -" Sepal said. Stall, stall, stall. "I have to help my friend. He got poisoned."

"Use Quick Attack again!"

"That's not good," Riolu said, and then hit him again.

"Ow," said Sepal.

Ignis wavered very slightly as the Leech Seed took effect, but he ignored it. He lunged forward again at his Trainer's command. Sepal was ready this time, and he managed to duck. Ignis tripped over him, so Sepal hit him with a Vine Whip when he was distracted. He was tired; still, the random bursts of energy from the Leech Seed helped enormously.

It didn't take long, though, for the Trainer to notice the seed. "Ignis! You've been seeded. Finish quickly!"

Ignis saluted and let loose a flurry of Quick Attacks. Apparently, he didn't know any other attacking move. That didn't stop him from utilizing his fists and incorporating painful punches into his attacks. Sepal dodged a few, but he was too slow to prevent most of them from connecting.

Finally, Sepal got an idea. He raised his vines, and when the Riolu flinched back to avoid getting hit, grabbed him and lifted him high into the air. Ignis' efforts to break free were futile. Sepal proceeded to smack him against the ground over and over.

"Go, Sepal!" Tochi yelled feebly.

"Endure!" the Trainer ordered.

Ignis braced himself, but it didn't last long. He managed to break Sepal's hold with a series of Quick Attacks, but the Leech Seed did him in.

Sepal almost celebrated, but stopped when he saw the look in the Trainer's eye. It looked...appraising. He plucked one of his Pokeballs off his belt and let loose a bird Pokemon. It was short, muscular, and bright red. Sepal didn't recognize it.

"What are you?" Sepal asked.

"I'm a Hawlucha." He cracked his claws. "And you're goin' _down!_ "

"False Swipe!"

Sepal didn't stand a chance. He collapsed, barely conscious, the second the Hawlucha lashed out at him. It burned so painfully that he was sure the Hawlucha had to be some kind of absurdly powerful being disguised as a tiny bird with a silly-looking head.

The Hawlucha stopped after a single attack, which Sepal was grateful for; he was positive he couldn't take another hit. But the trainer wasn't done with him yet. To his horror, he saw that the human was readying a Pokeball.

"Wait...no…"

 _Fwoosh!_

Flames licked up the sleeve of the Trainer's jacket. He yelped and stumbled backwards, ripping off the jacket and throwing it to the ground.

Tochi had struggled to his feet. He was now standing between the Trainer and Sepal with flames crackling inside his mouth. Later, Sepal would realize that his eyes had been burning red under the power of his ability, Blaze, giving him a truly demonic glare. The fox made eye contact with the Trainer, and his message was clear: get away.

The Hawlucha moved defensively in front of his Trainer, but the terrified human didn't wait. He recalled the Pokemon and fled into the underbrush and out of sight. With barely a hesitation, Tochi whipped around and pulled Sepal along with him in the opposite direction.

Once they were off the beaten path, they broke into a half-run-half-stagger. Both of them were weak and gasping, but neither of them stopped until they were a fair distance away. Tochi eventually pronounced that he couldn't hear any Pokemon or humans nearby. His adrenaline rush had worn off - his eyes were no longer glowing.

When he got his breath back, Sepal gasped, "You attacked him."

"The Trainer? Yeah...yeah, I did."

"How could you?!"

 _"What?"_

"How could you attack him! He wasn't a Pokemon, he was a _human!_ "

"So?" Tochi said defensively. "I didn't hurt him. I aimed for his jacket."

"You know you can't aim!" Sepal reproached. "Especially not when you're cringing from poison every five seconds! What if he was burned? What if we _seriously hurt_ him?"

"Why do you care?"

"Because just because I don't want a Trainer, doesn't mean I want to hurt one."

Tochi looked away. "I saved you from getting captured."

"I don't care," Sepal said bluntly.

The Fennekin wasn't sure what to say. The human had been driven off, they were hurt but alive, they were at least halfway through the forest by now. By all accounts they should have been celebrating their good luck. But no, apparently escape wasn't worth setting an article of clothing on fire.

He tried to think of something to say. He could explain further - after all, he had done it for Sepal's sake. But all he could think about was the haze of adrenaline that had clouded his mind. He had been so sure that Sepal was just as petrified about the potential capture as he would be under the same circumstances. His thoughts quickly turned from the result of his terror to the cause - did that mean...if their situation was ever reversed, did that mean Sepal wouldn't do the same for him? Rather than fighting back, would he leave Tochi behind?

"...We should get some rest," Tochi said finally, anxious changing the subject. Sepal looked at him balefully, and he hurried on. "I mean, we both need it, right?"

Sepal nodded listlessly. He wandered a few feet away and curled into a ball. It was only midday, but he seemed to fall asleep in seconds.

Curled up by himself, with poison wracking his body, Tochi lay down to sleep. Looking at Sepal mournfully, he sighed to himself. "Where did I go wrong?"

~*Q*~

 **A/N: I have noticed a pattern: the last three chapters ends with a line of dialogue from Tochi. Maybe Sepal will get another turn some time...he's not very talkative, though.**

 **That ending was my valiant attempt at Drama and Monologues. Okay, not okay? I'm always trying to improve my writing, and as I read this chapter over, I was like: no, this is too bare bones. Add some stuff. Write more. Do it!**

 **Oh yeah, and I haven't done Pokemon battles very much before, either. If you've got some advice, I'd love to hear it! Right now, the most well-written Pokemon battles I know of are in a story called Ashes of the Past by Saphroneth. Highly recommended.**

 **Please review if you have any comment whatsoever! See you next time!^^**

 **~*Akirys*~**


	5. Malva

**A/N: Lighter chapter with some important revelations.**

~*Q*~

When Tochi woke up, it was dusk, and Sepal was gone.

He had a quick and intense panic attack before he realized there was something next to him. A pile of pink berries...Pecha, by the looks of it, with a couple of Sitrus Berries towards the bottom. Now that he thought about it, the pain from the poison had gone way down. He must have been breathing in the scent of the Pecha Berries for a while.

To his left was a trail of yellow Aspear Berries - much like Tochi, Sepal's favorite. The Bulbasaur may not have been around, but the message was clear: _I've gone this way._ Tochi smiled.

Before he set off, he took a break to rest and munch on the other Berries. They were sweet, too much for Sepal but just the right amount for him. He soon felt better than he had in a long time. On the other hand, it was getting darker by the minute, and Tochi didn't relish the idea of being alone at night in a strange forest. He finished quickly and began to follow the trail that was illuminated by the diminishing sunset.

Meanwhile, Sepal was gathering food. He had gone back to care for Tochi, leaving a trail of berries so neither of them would get lost. (That was assuming the berries weren't eaten, anyways; a flaw Sepal realized just a little too late.) The process of marking the path he traveled with the berries he had meticulously collected rendered the half hour spent collecting them pointless, but he didn't mind. He had woken up an hour ago feeling just fine, and as entertaining as it was to sit in the sun and watch a Caterpie climb a tree, he decided to do something about Tochi's ill health. Turned out that it was nice having something to feel useful doing, so he started to stock up on food to last them two more days. He found a broad leaf on the ground to store the berries in, tying it tightly with a bit of his own vine. Without hands, it was harder than it sounded.

But now the sun was setting, and Sepal decided to find his way back to his friend. Hopefully Tochi hadn't decided to give up and go back to the VSC without him...that was not a good thing to think about right now. Thankfully, the two crossed paths almost the second Sepal turned to leave.

"Sepal!" Tochi said in relief.

"Hi."

"Thanks for the food. I'm feeling better now. And, uh, you know."

Sepal just nodded. He could tell by Tochi's expression that he knew Sepal wasn't angry. He had thought about earlier in the day as he wandered off by himself, and eventually decided that staying mad wasn't worth it. He'd much rather be here than captured by a random Trainer, and, well, Tochi had faith in his aiming skills, at least. Still, he hoped the Fennekin had learned a lesson.

The sun finally set. Tochi and Sepal traced their way back to the place they had fallen asleep, and from there, to the main pathway through Santalune Forest. Most of the young Trainers were gone, and they stayed well away from the few older Trainers looking for Pokemon in the dark. A couple of wild Pokemon challenged them, but the battles were quiet and relatively quick.

"Something's on my back," Sepal said suddenly as they were walking away from a Panpour he had just defeated. Tochi went around to take a look and withdrew as fast as possible; according to him, a mixed cloud of Poison and Sleep Powder was drifting out of the bulb..

"I know spore moves now?" Sepal asked, amazed.

Tochi wrinkled his nose. "Can you control them?"

Sepal shook his head. "Maybe after practice." They decided to have Tochi hold onto the leaf-bag of food - it wouldn't do to mix poison in with it.

They kept walking, tossing jokes and observations back and forth. Poison Powder drifted behind them like the wake behind a ship. At one point, Tochi set fire to the powder just to see what would happen - as it turned out, powders were very, very flammable. Sepal was forced to dive into the dirt to prevent himself from catching fire.

"...Oops."

Gradually, the two quieted down. Sepal was entering what he called Philosophy Mode - sometimes, to pass the time, he would attempt to ponder the Secrets of the Universe (no wonder the other starters gossiped about him sometimes). He was currently trying to figure out how the little balls on a Razz Berry were stuck together.

"Sepal?" Tochi asked.

"Hm?"

"Can I tell you something?"

"Is it about Razz Berries?"

"What? No. It's a secret. I haven't told anyone, but...it's kind of the reason why I wanted to leave in the first place."

"I'm listening."

Tochi took a deep breath. "What do you know about the Elite Four?"

"Uh…" Sepal had to consider this. "They're humans."

"Uh huh."

"They're really strong."

"Uh huh."

"They...fight in Pokemon battles?"

"Yeah. And they each have a type of Pokemon they use. For Kalos, it's Steel, Dragon, Water, and Fire." Tochi glanced at Sepal, but he was paying rapt attention. "And...the fire one, Malva...she's the one who does those news reports on those glowy things that the humans use, you know? But she also battles! And she's really, _really_ strong, and smart, and she's like the boss of all the other Elite Four humans, I think...and I've heard the humans say she has a bad reputation and she was with one of those evil teams and all that, but I don't think she's a bad person. I think she has to be a really great human to realize her team was bad and stop being a part of it."

Sepal was a little surprised; Tochi wasn't one for gushing, especially not about a glorified Pokemon Trainer. "So...do you want to meet her someday?"

"I want to be her Pokemon." Tochi's eyes sparkled. "I saw her on TV once, and she had all these Fire-types that looked _so cool_ , and they were such strong battlers, you wouldn't even believe it. Her Pyroar beat a _Water-type,_ Sepal! And there was just something about Malva herself that...well, you know. I was hoping - maybe if I did something really special, something to get Malva's attention, she would be impressed. And then she would let me join her team."

Sepal was quiet.

"You don't want to dash my hopes, do you?"

"I mean…it sounds crazy. I thought you didn't ever want to be captured?"

Tochi shook his head adamantly. "I'm willing, for Malva."

"But how will she ever notice you?"

"I have no idea," Tochi admitted. "Maybe something good will happen."

"Whatever it is, I'll help you," Sepal said.

"You don't have to!" Tochi protested. "What if joining Malva means going our separate ways?"

Sepal smiled. "Then I'll come back and take on the Elite Four on my own. Shouldn't be too hard if you're in it." Tochi rolled his eyes.

"Come on," he said. "If we hurry, we can make it out of the forest before dawn."

"Oh. Tochi, if you shared that with me, maybe there's something I should tell you…"

"What?"

Sepal looked and Tochi and seemed to lose his courage. "Nothing. Let's go."

~*Q*~

"Finally," Sepal gasped. "We made it out!"

"I thought Grass-types were okay with forests?" Tochi asked wearily.

"I have my limits."

It was at least midnight. Tochi and Sepal had continued their trek for hours. During that time, Sepal managed to control his new spore attacks just a little bit better. They also fought sixteen battles, spilled half the berries from their food supply, and tripped over tree roots too many times to count.

"Bench," Tochi said upon spotting one. He collapsed on it immediately.

Sepal looked around nervously. They were in the middle of the town square, which was quite nice - a giant fountain in the shape of a Roselia was the centerpiece, but flowery bushes were dotted here and there. Even the benches themselves looked more comfortable than a bench had any right to be.

"Tochi, we should probably go someplace more secret…"

"Shhh. Wake me up later."

Sepal's eyes landed on a building with a red roof. "Tochi, there's a Pokemon Center right there!" When the fox didn't move, he resorted to dragging him by one leg across the ground. Tochi didn't seem to care.

The Pokemon Center's doors slid open automatically. The nurse pulling the night shift looked up from her book, which was difficult to see but had a tall building and a bunch of water on the cover. She seemed surprised to see a ragged Bulbasaur with wafts of Sleep Powder floating around him, using his vines to pull an unconscious Fennekin along the ground. "May I...help you?"

 _"Bulba bulba."_

"Excuse me?"

 _"Bulba saur."_

"I'm sorry, I don't understand you."

Sepal looked at Tochi. "This will be difficult."

"Hold on, please…" The nurse disappeared in the back and reappeared with a Chansey yawning and rubbing her eyes. "Chansey here can translate. I can understand her a little better."

"Hiya!" the Chansey said. "Who are you?"

"I'm Sepal, and this is Tochi. You?"

"Oh, I'm just a Chansey. I don't have a name."

"Pokemon abuse!" Tochi shouted, before falling back asleep.

"We need a place to sleep," Sepal said. "Is there room?"

"Well, we always have room in the back for the Trainers and their Pokemon," Chansey said cheerfully. "If you could go get your Trainer, you could…" She noticed Sepal was shaking his head violently, and that Tochi was giving her a death glare, and faltered. "...Er, we do have an open space. Right this way."

"Chansey?" the nurse asked as the pink Pokemon led the two past the front desk. Chansey waved her stubby arms in an _I'll-explain-later_ kind of way.

They followed Chansey into a hallway filled with doors. Behind each one, a Trainer and his or her Pokemon were resting up for the night. Tochi and Sepal, who saw the five-room Vaniville Starter Center complex as the biggest indoor human dwelling for miles around, were astounded.

"Here you go!" Chansey pointed to a door towards the end of the hallway. "You don't need a key if you'll be here for only the rest of the night. Enjoy your stay, and please respect our guest policies!" She bustled off, probably hoping to get some sleep herself that night.

Sepal dragged Tochi inside and unceremoniously plopped him on a huge, plush bed. Neither of them had even seen a real human bed before, except in pictures. They were too tired to care.

Sepal climbed on top of it, which was difficult, given his stubby legs. Tochi cracked one eye open to look at him, then closed it and curled up in an even tighter ball.

"Tochi?"

"Mmfffmmhmm."

"That was a long day."

"Mmmfmmm."

"You even had a nap just a few hours ago."

"Hmmhmm."

"I guess you're just tired again."

"Sepal, I thought _I_ was the talkative one."

"Sorry." Sepal waited. "I do want to tell you something, but it can wait until tomorrow, right?"

No answer.

"Okay. 'Night..."

He closed his eyes and drifted off.

~*Q*~

 **A/N: Fun fact, Malva is my favorite Elite Four member.**

 **Review, please! I will always always appreciate it.**

 **~*Akirys*~**


	6. Viola Bugs Me (She Just Doesn't Click)

**A/N: This one's important...and because of that, much longer than the usual. First Gym Battle time!**

 **~*Q*~**

The next day, the two adventurers woke u-

 _"SANTALUNE!"_

"Whuh?"

"We made it to Santalune, Sepal!"

"I know...I dragged you halfway across the city."

Tochi was barely listening. "Let's go! Today, we're fighting the Gym Leader!"

"Today?" Sepal didn't look enthusiastic. He tried to lie back down on the comfortable human bed, but with Tochi jumping up and down near his face, it wasn't easy.

"Why not today? What's the holdup?"

"I just thought...well, maybe we can train for a few days."

"Absolutely not." Tochi nudged Sepal until he rolled off the bed with a thud. "I've heard Trainers talk about the gym here, it's a real pushover. It's a bunch of bugs."

"A bunch of bugs trained by a Gym Leader, Tochi."

"Irrelevant! Now come on. I'm giving us an hour for training."

Sepal followed obediently as Tochi skidded out of the room. The Chansey from last night was sweeping the hallway and gave them a wave as they passed. The Nurse Joy had been replaced by another Nurse Joy, the only difference being a slightly deeper tan. She gave them a pleasant wave as they left, apparently having been filled in on the situation by the Chansey.

Santalune was even more cheerful and pretty in the daytime. The Roselia fountain was still running, but now there were humans of all sorts gathered around. Sepal and Tochi were tense, but no one tried to capture or kidnap them; it was only the Pokemon waiting by their feet that gave them curious looks. Tochi loftily ignored them.

"This way," he told Sepal. "I hear battles."

They wandered around the city and backtracked a couple times, but eventually found themselves in front of the Pokemon Gym. It was a huge building with a Pokeball insignia on the front. Tochi and Sepal looked up at it in awe.

"Maybe it's good that we're not going here right away," Tochi said nervously. "Gotta train, right? We can ask someone where the best place to battle is."

It was at that point that their luck ran out. No humans had been bothering them outside of the forest, but now an oldish teenager approached. She was wearing a helmet and some odd shoes with wheels. Before she caught sight of them, she had been casually leaning against the Gym.

"Hi there!" the human said. "Are you two looking for your Trainer?"

Tochi gritted his teeth. "We don't have a Trainer, ma'am." Of course, all she heard was _fenn, fenne, kin._

"Lost, huh? Don't worry, little guys. I'm sure the Pokemon Center will know what to do. You can go there if you'd like."

"Of course we tried the Pokemon Center, woman!" Tochi snapped. "How stupid are we? I mean - we _would_ have checked the Pokemon Center, but we don't have Trainers. Ugh!" He huffed in irritation.

"I apologize for him," said Sepal.

The lady looked politely confused. "Er...if you don't like the Pokemon Center, perhaps you can try asking the Gym Leader?"

"Forget it!" Tochi trotted off without waiting for Sepal. He started making his way towards the edge of the city, where lay the entrance to Détourner Way.

The human was lost. "Did I...say something wrong?"

"He's a bit sensitive about the 'Trainer' thing," Sepal said absently. "I like your shoes."

~*Q*~

When Sepal finally tracked him down, Tochi was attempting to set a Trainer's Marill on fire. It worked about as well as you'd expect for a damp Water/Fairy type.

"That all you got?" the Trainer's Marill challenged. "Hit me, fool! You can't ignore your destiny!"

Sepal walked up and slapped the Marill with a Vine Whip. It promptly fell over.

"Thanks," Tochi said.

"You should probably get used to getting asked about Trainers," Sepal remarked mildly. "It's not gonna stop."

"I _know_ , but it's like...prejudice, is what it is. Prejudice against Trainerless non-wild Pokemon!"

"That's stretching it..." Tochi just shrugged.

Tochi then suggested that they split up to train faster. The risk of getting mistaken for a wild Pokemon was higher, but they decided it was worth it. They would always stay close enough to shout for help, though.

Sepal's first encounter was with an angry but clueless Psyduck. He smiled to himself, readying his vines. Meanwhile, Tochi was having a much worse time.

"What kind of Litleo are you?" a real Litleo asked.

"I'm not. I'm a Fennekin."

"I'm a girl Litleo. Are you what a boy Litleo looks like?"

"Nooo...I'm a Fennekin."

Another Litleo poked her head out of the grass. "Sweetie, who are you talking to? Is that one of those shiny Litleo?"

"No! I'm a Fennekin!"

"Is a Fennekin another kind of Litleo?"

"Look, can we fight already?"

The mother Litleo pulled her daughter into the grass. "Young man, you are not teaching my child these terrible habits!"

"With all due respect, studies show that a Pokemon who never fights has a 56% greater chance of illness and depression. Trust me. The professor used to visit us. He'd talk for hours."

"And who is this 'professor' you speak of?" Tochi groaned.

The hour passed quickly. Tochi weaseled his way away from the Litleos and went on to fight other wild Pokemon and, eventually, the Trainers' Pokemon themselves. Sepal's day went similarly; the only real hiccup was when he accidentally attracted a monstrous Azumarill from the water. He doused it in Sleep Powder and ran.

Finally, they met up by the far end of the route. A rushing waterfall to their left looked too dangerous to go down, but there was plenty more unexplored territory. Ahead of them was one of those buildings that led the way into a new city.

"What town's through this way?" Tochi wondered, going inside.

Instead of the peaceful junction there usually was, they found themselves inside a large and rather regal hallway. In the exact center, a Pokemon battle was taking place. A fierce Raichu squared off against a Diggersby. The latter appeared to be winning by a long shot; it kept stomping the ground and causing Earthquakes that tossed the Raichu through the air. Tochi and Sepal stood far back on more stable ground.

As they watched, one of the Trainers recalled his Raichu and sent out another Pokemon - a monstrous Kingdra. The other human switched into a Granbull, which cracked its knuckles. The two Pokemon squared off.

"Wow…" Tochi said, awed.

The battle was brief but one-sided - one, two Play Roughs, and the Kingdra couldn't go on. The Raichu was sent out again, but the Granbull was on a roll. It slammed into the electric mouse with an Ice Punch that caused a cold snap Sepal felt from twenty feet away.

"That's my last one," the Raichu's trainer said ruefully, recalling it. "Fantastic! Please go ahead. May the remainder of your journey be filled with joy and success." He said it like a scripted line.

"Thanks," the other Trainer said, recalling his Granbull. "You know, maybe you'd win more if you had a full team of Pokemon. Most Trainers do by this point."

"If no one got through, we couldn't keep the industry going." The first Trainer winked. "Enjoy!"

Tochi and Sepal ran forward to watch. The first Trainer stepped forward to reveal a long passageway. The second one walked down it as lights lit up on either side of him. Eventually, a doorway opened on the very end. Tochi and Sepal squinted, but they couldn't make out anything on the other side.

"That's Victory Road," the trainer with the Raichu told them. They jumped, having forgotten he was watching them. "You two planning on going through there someday?"

"Yes!" Tochi said, eyes shining.

He couldn't understand him, but he got the message. "Then I wish you the best of luck!"

Tochi didn't seem to want to leave, but Sepal coaxed him away. "The sooner we fight Viola, the sooner we'll back here."

"Right...right, let's go." Tochi tore his eyes away and allowed Sepal to lead him off.

When they arrived at the Gym, the lady with the wheelie shoes was still there. "Oh, are you finally looking their for your Trainer?" Tochi didn't bother with an answer.

The inside of the gym was a lot smaller than they expected. There was only one human in there, and he sure didn't look like the Gym Leader. He started to say "Welcome to Sant -", but stopped in confusion when he realized there was no Trainer there, just two unevolved starters.

"Something's below us," Tochi said. "Let's get down there."

In the middle of the room was...a hole. They couldn't quite make out what lay at the bottom, but the sounds of Pokemon rang up from it. The only way of getting through it was a white pole that led straight down.

Tochi ventured up to touch it. "It's made of web!"

"We'll have to get down," Sepal speculated.

"How?"

Sepal extended his vines and, very carefully, wrapped them around the pole. He walked to the edge, teetered a second, and jumped.

"Hey, wait!" Tochi ran forwards, but Sepal hadn't gone far. He was hanging halfway down the webbing through sheer vine-power. The faint stickiness of the web probably helped his grip.

"Come on," he managed. "You can probably drop straight down from here."

Tochi paced around above him. No hands, and he worried that biting the rope would cause it to snap.

"Need help?" the lone human asked, attempting to pet him.

Tochi whirled around, snarling. "Don't touch me!"

The human raised his hands defensively. "Hey, sorry! You just looked a bit stuck there, all right? You know, we have a ramp in the back for those who can't get down. Wheelchairs, fear of heights, that sort of thing."

Tochi was suspicious, but he figured a ramp was actually a pretty good idea. "Fine. Sepal, come on up, the human has a plan."

"I can't."

"What?"

"Get up. I'm sli - _ahhhhhh!_ "

There was a sound like a combination of a trampoline, a thud, and a splash, and then Sepal faintly said, "I'm okay…"

"Uh oh. Human, where's that ramp?"

~*Q*~

Good news: the ramp ended right behind someone who must have been the Gym Leader. She was by herself in a tent, pictures of Bug-types strategically placed around her, and she was carrying a weird rectangular device that she looked at intently.

Bad news: Sepal was alone in the middle of a giant web that looked more like a maze. He was attempting to walk over it, but he seemed too intimidated by the prospect of falling. Seriously, why was a giant web just hanging there over empty space?

Tochi skirted around the Gym Leader and jumped onto the web. It vibrated under his weight, but easily held him. "Sepal, I'm coming!" he called.

"Yeah…" he whimpered, not bothering to raise his voice - Tochi heard him anyways, of course. "I'll be here."

There were several young-looking Trainers dotted around the maze, but they were on slightly rickety wooden platforms that looked positively safe in comparison. They looked back and forth between Tochi and Sepal, clearly wondering what happened to their Trainer. It was their heads if they asked, of course.

The one nearest to Tochi seemed to gather his courage. "Hey, you! You gotta battle if you pass by me!"

"Yeah, right." Tochi tiptoed forwards. For him, the web was actually just wide enough for him to be marginally safer than a full-sized human would be. He could put all four legs on it and still have an inch of space on either side.

The Youngster wasn't listening. He sent out a Spewpa which spat String Shot at the Fennekin, causing him to trip and almost lose his balance.

"Watch it!" Tochi scolded. "Are you trying to get me killed?"

The Spewpa panicked. "I-I'm sorry! Trainer made me do it! Besides, there's a big tub of water only a few feet underneath the web to catch anyone if they fall!"

"That's not gonna help me," Tochi said flatly. "Can you let me leave?"

Spewpa looked at his Trainer pleadingly. "Uhh...no."

"Okay." Tochi set him on fire.

Spewpa squeaked and fainted, seemingly more out of fear than pain. The Trainer recalled him and muttered angrily under his breath as Tochi left them behind.

This time, he was more careful about where he stepped. There were several options he could take, but he could tell which ones led in front of a Trainer. He carefully avoided a female human, who looked equal parts relieved and disappointed, and picked his way closer to Sepal. Big droplets of water rolled off the web wherever he stepped, making his feet feel uncomfortably cold but little else. Suddenly, a high pitched screech seared his ears, causing him to stumble dizzily and almost fall off the web. He shook it off and looked around.

Sepal had made it a little farther by using his vines for support. He hadn't known to avoid the Trainers, so he had gotten roped into a battle. He was facing off against a Ledyba. That normally wouldn't have been a problem, but the bug Pokemon knew Supersonic. Sepal had gotten the full brunt of the high-pitched noise, and now he was staggering around, randomly waving his vines around in an attempt to hit the flying bug, and in serious danger of falling.

"Sepal, look out!" Tochi shouted. "Snap out of it!"

"Hey, you can't help him!" the Trainer whined. "Miss Viola, is that fair?"

The Gym Leader was still looking at her rectangular thing, but she muttered, "Of course! Play nice, people. Oh, this photo is just _fantastic."_

Tochi moved as fast as he could. After almost-tripping three more times, he caught up with Sepal and grabbed his bulb just as he started to topple over the edge. Sepal's eyes cleared slowly as he blinked several times. "Oh...thanks."

"This isn't a Double Battle!" the Trainer complained. "Miss Violaaaaaaa!"

"Quit it!" Tochi motioned Sepal back. "He's switching out. You're facing _me_ now."

At this range, a Supersonic would be absolutely devastating to a Fennekin, so speed was key. He shot off bursts of fire as fast as he could, keeping the Ledyba off guard, and then leaped onto the wooden platform for support and nailed the Ledyba in the center of its chest. It fell underneath the web and landed with a sploosh in what indeed sounded like a big tub of water. His Trainer recalled him irritably.

"All right!" Tochi told Sepal. "Follow me."

"I seriously feel sick."

"It's okay. Gimme your vine."

Tochi led Sepal through the maze, which felt awkwardly like leading a Furfrou on a leash, but neither of them complained. Finally, they reached the end and stood in front of the Gym Leader. Sepal almost collapsed with relief.

Tochi's heart was pounding. The Gym Leader!

She really wasn't much to look at, though. Tochi had been half-expecting all Gym Leaders to be at least a foot taller than all the other humans he had met. Most bigger Pokemon were stronger than smaller ones, right? But Viola was practically unremarkable, except for the rectangle thing she carried around. Neither of them had ever seen one of those. Viola was evidently fascinated by it.

"Miss Viola?" Sepal piped up.

"I'm sorry," the Gym Leader said absently. "I took some photographs the other day, and I just can't stop looking at them! They're fantastic, just fantastic! Would you like to see? Oh, no, silly me. Aren't you here for a battle?" She looked up and blinked, not seeing anyone. Then she looked down. Two Pokemon, one calm, the other impatient, looked up at her.

"Oh dear," Viola said. "Are you lost?"

 _"Fenne fenne kin!"_

"Did you check the Pokemon Center?"

The Fennekin buried its head in its front legs.

The Bulbasaur approached her. Using its vines, it carefully motioned to something.

"My camera? Oh, it's quite wonderful! I don't have any Bulbasaur, but I have a picture of a lovely Sewaddle in a tree."

The Bulbasaur shook its head patiently. It pointed again.

"My pants? No? Oh, my Pokeballs!"

 _"Saur!"_

"Well, if you're looking to become my Pokemon, I'm afraid I specialize in Bug-types. I'm sorry."

 _"Kin!"_ the Fennekin burst out angrily. It pounced on thin air, pretended to bite something, and then shot sparks at its companion. The Bulbasaur got in on the act, dropping dramatically to the ground with a poof of silvery Sleep Powder.

"A battle," Viola realized, feeling silly for not realizing it sooner. "Oh. I'd love to fight you, but I'm a Gym Leader, you see. I only fight Trainers."

 _"Fennekin!"_

"Look, I don't want you to get hurt!"

 _"Bulba bulbasaur!"_ The second Pokemon went off on some sort of frustrated tirade. The Fennekin joined in until Viola had two angry starters yelling at her. She took a step back.

"Fine! I get it." Viola took a deep breath. "I'll fight you if you want, but I'm not liable for any...anything. And if you lose, I'm taking you to a Pokemon Center and finding you actual Trainers immediately!"

This sobered up the two right away. They shared a look, nodded, and faced her.

"If you're sure. Surskit, go!"

~*Q*~

 **A/N: Viola's canon characterization: bugs, cameras, and bug and camera puns. Oh, and she says "Fantastic! Just fantastic!" a lot.**

 **Tune in next time for the exciting conclusion! Will they win? Will the fanfic end here? Will I ever reach 50,000 words? Only time will tell!**


	7. The Worst Fight Ever

**A/N: This is a once-in-a-lifetime rarity. You know why? I actually _like_ this chapter. I'm usually neutral at best to my own writing, but I actually _like_ this. Please review. I would really love some criticism.**

 **~*Q*~**

"Surskit." Tochi's voice quavered. "Sepal, you'd better start this off."

"Okay. Yeah." Sepal stepped forward and looked over his opponent, a Surskit, who gave him a once-over and then a wink.

The Gym Leader eyed Tochi. "Surskit, use Water Sport!"

Tochi yelped and scooted backwards from where he was spectating. The Surskit splashed water everywhere - not harmful for the moment, but it would be severely hampering to Tochi later on.

"Okay, self," Sepal murmured. "Sleep Powder!"

"Bubble!"

The Pokemon charged towards each other. The wave of bubbles splashed almost completely harmlessly against Sepal's side, but along the way they absorbed most of the powder and rendered it ineffective. Sepal shot more powder into the air, but the Surskit surrounded itself with Bubbles.

"Sepal, try to Vine Whip it!"

"Tochi, I thought we agreed to not backseat battle!"

It was a good idea, though. Sepal ran forward, vines at the ready. The Surskit cowered, but at the last second it zipped out of the way and then slammed its Quick Attack into Sepal from behind. Sepal managed to strike behind himself and catch the Surskit off guard. It flew through the air and skidded several feet before coming to a stop across the field.

Sepal stood back and took a second to fill the air with Sleep Powder in case his opponent tried to approach. Likewise, the Surskit stayed well away. Noticing that the Water Sport was drying up, she soaked the area yet again.

"Oh, come on!" Tochi complained.

At Viola's command, the Surskit dashed forwards with another Quick Attack. Sepal tried to push her back with his vines, but the shock of her ramming into them full-force made him falter. She smacked him between the eyes and zipped away before she inhaled too much Sleep Powder, leaving Bubbles in her wake to get rid of the spores.

A new tactic was needed. The next time the Surskit skittered forwards, Sepal took the hit and trapped the Pokemon in his vines. As it struggled to break free, he used to distraction to slip a Leech Seed onto it. He acted like Vine Whipping it multiple times was the entire point of the attack, but as the Surskit broke free, the real damage had been done. On the sidelines, Tochi smiled - he knew Sepal's signature stealth seed when he saw one.

The next several minutes were spent playing keep-away. Every time the Surskit attempted to Quick Attack him, Sepal either sent up a protective cloud of spores or dodged out of the way. The latter method was much less effective because of how slow he was in comparison to the Surskit, but the powder method managed to at least stall the bug long enough for her to be hit with a Vine Whip or two. They were always glancing blows, though, and the Surskit was catching onto his spore technique. Whenever she charged forwards, she would send a load of Bubbles ahead of herself to soak the powder and turn it to wet clumps on the ground. On the bright side, the Leech Seed was kicking in. The Surskit would occasionally stop and shake her head/body as if trying to wave off the pain.

Still, Sepal was tiring from the barrage of Quick Attacks. He had to end this soon.

He raised his vines again and defensively curled them around himself, surrounding his side of the field with Sleep Powder. The stuff was already in a mushy carpet on the ground - that was going to be really irritating to have to mop up later.

He waved his vines around in a circular motion, as if he was caging himself inside a spinning ball. The Surskit took this as a show of desperate flamboyance and appeared to assume he was out of ideas. She skittered around him, blasting away most of the spores, and took her time in getting to him. Meanwhile, Sepal wrapped himself up even more tightly.

Finally, she dashed for him in a final Quick Attack. Sepal didn't flinch. The second she hit him, he let his vines cave under her weight, and poof - he broke open like a Grass-type smoke bomb filled with Sleep Powder. He had gathered most of the spores close to him, but kept them from dispersing with his vines so that the Surskit wouldn't be able to get close to him. Sure enough, it worked. She staggered back, realization dawning in her beady black eyes, and curled up on the ground, fast asleep. Sepal took the opportunity to hit her several times. Four Vine Whips, and she went limp.

"Yes!" Tochi cheered.

"Why, that was...fantastic! Just fantastic!" Viola recalled her Pokemon. "I can't wait to see how you'll fare against my trump card."

Suddenly, Sepal felt exhausted. His legs almost buckled beneath him. "Tochi?"

He nodded and stepped forward to take the Bulbasaur's place. "Leave it to me."

~*Q*~

The Water Sport hadn't quite dried, so the wet floor tingled underneath Tochi's feet.

Viola released her Pokemon, a Vivillon. It would have looked intimidatingly majestic if it weren't quite so...pink.

Oh, and even though the Surskit had been too focused to talk? This Vivillon made up for it. _Constantly._

"Hi hi hiyaaaaaa! You sure are a weird little dude. Just like your friend there! Hi there, friend! Where's your Trainer? Are you battling by yourself? My Trainer tells me what to do. She's smart! That's good because I wouldn't know what to do, ahahahahahahahahaha!"

"For the love of Arceus! Are you going to talk the _whole time?"_

"...Mmmmmmmmmyup."

"It's a battle strategy," Viola explained, reading Tochi's expression. "She thought of it herself. Isn't my little darling just fantastic? Use Harden!"

Tochi had been running forwards, ready to tackle the Vivillon out of the air, but the bug Pokemon heard Viola's command just in time. She flashed silver just before Tochi rammed into her in midair. He succeeded in knocking her to the ground, but he also got a headache.

"Ooooh! Too bad, little 'Kinny!" she crowed, taking to the air again.

"If you call me that one more time, I swear I'm burning down this whole field."

The Vivillon gasped. "Not my Trainer's pretty pictures of me!"

Tochi targeted her again, but the Vivillon managed to evade and Harden. She did this several times, though she got progressively slower. By the time Tochi managed to pin her down by a wing, she was basically a flying sheet of metal.

"Whatcha gonna do now, bud? Ooooooooooh!"

Tochi set her on fire. It was fun.

The Vivillon screamed (well, it was more of an enraged whine) and batted him off, taking to the air again. A few rolls in the dirt were all it took to put the flames out. Tochi hoped to leave a lasting burn, but even as the Pokemon's wings were scorched, a shower of damaged scales littered the ground, only to be replaced by one that were fresh and new. It must have been from some kind of Ability.

"Time to bring out our secret strategy," Viola declared. _Uh oh_. "Infestation!"

The Vivillon did a complicated twirl, and from the ground an army of...somethings. They were small, they buzzed loudly, and they headed straight for Tochi. He backed up, and then turned to run, but they overtook him and swarmed up into his fur. He shuddered in horror; that close to his ears, the buzzing was absolutely unbearable.

A few of the little nasties scuttled towards Sepal, but Vivillon waved them in her direction. "The battle is here, my friendly thingies!"

"Tochi hopped from paw to paw. "What are these?!"

"Infestation spawn, of course! Ahahahaha! You like?"

"No, I mean - _what_ are _these_?!"

"Er...tiny Durants? No, Spinarak, I think. Or maybe Skorupi."

"So you have a _living army_ at your disposal?"

"Umm…I don't think they're _living_ …oh, don't read too much into it! Durspinarupi, attack!"

Immediately, the tiny monsters started to nip at Tochi furiously. He scratched his fur furiously with his hind leg, then ran towards the nearest puddle of Water Sport and actually rolled in it in the hopes of crushing or drowning them. A few of the bugs seemed to dissipate, but there were still plenty left. To make matters worse, the Vivillon swooped in to Tackle him while he was distracted.

Tochi lay on his back in the puddle of water. "This is the _worst fight ever."_

"Don't give up!" Sepal called from the sidelines.

"You're not _covered in bugs,_ Sepal!"

"Giving up is superfun!" the Vivillon advised. "You should totally do it."

Tochi gritted his teeth and rolled upright. He shook his fur, sending water droplets and bugs in every direction, and charged after Vivillon with the full intent of roasting her into a sad little crisp. She dodged his first few streams of fire, but he managed to tackle her again and blast her right in the face.

"Ow," the Vivillon gasped. "Say, that hurt! You're mean, little friend. Know what'll make us even? Infestatioooooooooon!"

The swarm kicked in again. Tochi resisted their bites for a second or two, but then the horror factor got to him and he went into a panic, jumping off the Vivillon and tearing in circles around the small arena as if he could outrun the sting. Vivillon giggled like a maniac and swooped after him, occasionally knocking him off his feet.

When the biting died down, Tochi ordered himself to stay calm. He was fighting a losing battle, and he knew it. The Embers he inflicted clearly hurt a ton, but they would do no good if he was too busy being swarmed to properly aim.

Blaze! Maybe that was it. If he could get his body temperature up high enough, he could incinerate the Infestation and have a strong enough power boost to take the Vivillon down in one more shot. The problem was getting to that stage. It was a terrifying balancing act; too strong to faint, not too strong to prevent Blaze from activating.

 _Wham!_ The Vivillon tackled him again when his guard was down. As Tochi struggled to get up, the Vivillon activated the Infestation swarm yet again.

"This is funnnnn! Aren't you having fun? I am! Ahahaha!"

"Just...shut up!" Tochi staggered to his feet and started to run in a circle around the field. He wasn't even sure what his goal was: just to keep enduring the slow erosion of his stamina.

As he ran, he noticed that the biting died down quicker than before; many of the bugs were jumping ship, melting back into the ground. Soon they would be gone, and the Vivillon would send another wave after him. That was his chance.

"C'mon, slow dooown!" The Vivillon struggled to flap after him, but she was weighed down by all the times she had used Harden. "You know you want to!"

Tochi did want to - his strength was threatening to give out on him. But he just ran faster. He could almost feel it - a burning sensation beginning in the tips of his ears and flowing to the rest of his body.

"Hey…" The Vivillon screeched to a halt in midair. "What are you doing?!"

"Tochi!" Sepal cried. "Look!"

Tochi's vision was tinted red, but he looked down at himself and realized he was on fire. But not just on fire: the flames swirled around him in a protective coating of pure heat. The Infestation had long since burned away, and Tochi felt strangely powerful in his natural element. _Nothing_ in here could touch him now. The fire filled him with energy. He ran faster and faster; remnants of Water Sport evaporated in his wake.

This wasn't Blaze. It was a new move. _Flame Charge._

The Vivillon flapped up as high as she could. "You asked for it!INFESTATION!"

Another swarm of bugs arose from the ground and scuttled towards him, but Tochi ran straight over them, incinerating them on contact. His only goal was the Vivillon.

As he got closer, the Vivillon hissed and seemed to abandon pretenses. " _Infestation!_ Come on! What's wrong with you!" She flew up as high as she dared, almost hugging the ceiling.

That didn't matter to Tochi. He circled two, three more times around the field, getting faster with each pass, and launched himself upwards. He shot up like a rocket and collided with the Vivillon in midair, using his teeth to drag to her down to the ground.

"Let me go!" the Vivillon snapped. "You...you little…" Tochi kept her pinned to the ground as he surrounded both of them in searing flames. The bug Pokemon struggled for several seconds before going still.

Viola held up her Pokemon's ball. Tochi clambered off the Vivillon so she could be returned. His adrenaline didn't crash right away, but as the flames petered out, he felt like a weight was pressing more and more heavily onto him.

"I underestimated you two," the Gym Leader said ruefully. "Congratulations! After showing fantastic skill and strength under the, er, _heat_ of battle, you have earned the Bug Badge!"

Sepal looked at Tochi meaningfully, but he shook his head, not having the energy to spare. Sepal plodded over to Viola and gestured that she place the Badge on his head.

"Uh…" She put the badge on him with as much dignity as she could. "And here's your prize money." Sepal opened his mouth, and Viola awkwardly put a wad of 2,000P inside.

"C'mon, Toch," he said, voice muffled by the cash. "Pok'mon Center."

"Yeah…" Tochi agreed faintly. "Yeah, that sounds nice."

~*Q*~

 **A/N: At first the Vivillon was simply an irritatingly cheerful side character. Then, as the horrors of Infestation were explored, she got her own sadistic streak. Then, when a friend reminded me of their 'dex number, she became straight-up Butterfly Satan. What she's doing with Viola and not with Aaron in the Sinnoh Elite Four, I will never know.**

 **This marks the very first Gym Battle that has been entirely created by me, and has been put into writing! How was it?**

 **So yes, lots of milestones in this one. The first badge has been obtained! If you don't feel like reviewing, please at least recommend this to your friends! Or you can refresh the page a lot and raise the view count. :3**

 **~*Akirys*~**


	8. Just Kinda Walking

**A/N: Later chapter than usual, but that doesn't mean I've fallen behind in writing! (Much.) Sorta filler, sorta not. Feel free to review.**

~*Q*~

At the Center, the first Nurse Joy was back on duty. This time, she wasn't as surprised at seeing two unaccompanied Pokemon. In fact, she seemed impressed after Sepal showed off their newly acquired badge.

"There's a problem, though," Nurse Joy remarked. "You two need healing, but we usually have to scan the Pokemon inside of a Pokeball."

"Oh." Sepal said. "Give us a second."

He turned to Tochi. "You?"

"I don't like Trainers, but I don't have anything against tight spaces," Tochi admitted. "And I'm too tired to care. Swear you'll break the Pokeball afterwards for me, though. I don't want the humans handling it." Sepal nodded.

The nurse's Chansey, overhearing the conversation, translated for her. Joy brought out two plain Pokeballs from underneath the counter.

"Aw…"

"What?"

"I was kinda hoping they had a cool green one. You know, to match me."

"That's silly."

"Well, you're red already."

Tochi was about to respond when the nurse threw a Pokeball at him. He disappeared with a flash of light; the ball shook three times, but then bam! Tochi broke it and reappeared, gasping, on the floor. "Sorry! Habit. I panicked. Can we try again?"

"You're lucky I'm not making you pay for these," the nurse grumbled.

"I said sorry."

"Can't understand you."

"I'm more impressed that you actually managed to break out of that after the battle, actually," Sepal said. "Just relax this time."

The nurse threw the second Pokeball. Tochi took a deep breath just before it clocked him on the head. This time, after the ball shook, it stilled with a faint ding!

"There we go." The nurse rummaged around underneath the counter again. The Chansey whispered a suggestion to her, and she pulled out a shiny green Friend Ball.

"Thank you!" Sepal said joyfully. He handed the money and badge to Chansey and let himself be captured without resistance.

The Pokeball was...dark. That was about it. If he squinted, he could see the blurry outside of the ball, sort of like being able to see from different perspectives if you only had one eye open at a time. He could hear muffled sounds, but only if he concentrated. He couldn't feel anything, so he had no idea whether he was moving; it was like being stuck inside a cloud.

Suddenly, a warm, tingly wave washed over him. It felt wonderfully peaceful, and he could feel the various aches he had gotten from the fight ebb away. Distantly, he wondered how Pokemon had ever survived before humans invented their healing machines.

A few more seconds passed, and then Sepal's Pokeball was opened. He materialized on the ground, disoriented. "Thanks…"

He took his stuff back from Chansey, and then indicated that he wanted Tochi's Pokeball. As soon as the nurse gave it to him, he pressed the button with his vine and let it open in a flash of light. Tochi appeared, looking a million times better than he had just a few minutes ago.

Tochi scanned around him until he saw Sepal holding the Pokeball. "Good. Crush it." After slipping his own ball into his bag, Sepal complied, using his vines to hit it against the ground as hard as he could.

Nurse Joy rolled her eyes. "No, go on, break our free gifts."

"Sorry," Tochi said, not sounding sorry at all. "Sepal, let's get our stuff from our room!"

~*Q*~

Sepal and Tochi had left their bag of food in the room for safekeeping. Otherwise, the room was spotless, already ready for another guest.

"I wonder if we'll even need this anymore," Tochi said, peeking inside the bag. "The Berries are still fine, but they could spoil."

"I don't think they _can_ spoil."

"Maybe. Humans carry them around for months, anyways. You know what we need?" Tochi declared suddenly. "A backpack. Not a fragile bag of leaves, but an actual thing with actual pockets. We're gonna get even more badges, and probably a ton of money too."

"It would be annoying to carry money in my mouth all the time," Sepal admitted.

"Speaking of which...can I see the badge?"

Sepal set it down carefully between them. They looked at the metal chip in awe for a few seconds. So much trouble gone through for such a tiny thing...at least it wasn't shaped like a Vivillon.

"It's pretty small," Tochi said eventually.

"And shiny."

"Yeah...shiny. I want more."

"Because they look nice?"

"You know why!" Tochi picked up the badge - very carefully - in his teeth and deposited it in their food bag. "There. It might fall out of the bottom or something, but it's the best we can do."

"We have money," Sepal mused. "We could ask a Pokemart for a better bag."

Tochi frowned. "Asking about purchasing things is harder than asking to battle."

"Hm."

They sat there staring at the bag for a while. As much as Tochi wanted to lie down and contemplate the events of the day, though, he knew they should get moving. "All right. Time to roll out."

"Why?"

"Well, it kind of doesn't feel like it anymore, but we are still fugitives, Sepal."

"Oh."

"So we're on the run from the law!" Tochi said, maybe a tad dramatically. "And now at least one majorly important human has seen us."

"Then let's go," Sepal said. "Any ideas where to next?"

Tochi's eyes were sparkling. "Lumiose."

~*Q*~

They left the hotel and started the trek out of the city and onwards.

"I heard the professor talking about Lumiose. He has a lab there."

"Neat."

"And he raises Pokemon there, especially starters, and he does mysterious projects with rocks. And it took his six months to stop getting lost finding his way home. And he's really close to the Trainer PR center, and he wants to film himself if he ever has time."

"You sure know a lot."

Tochi shrugged. "When they talked about the outside world, I liked to pay attention."

The two kept walking. It was early - only about one in the afternoon - so they had plenty of time before night fell. Word must have been getting around about their endeavors in the Gym (small town problems) so while they still weren't being bothered yet, Tochi picked up on a lot more whispers and curious or suspicious glances.

"Here it is." They stopped in front of the Santalune-Route 4 border. Before they could cross, a human blocked their way. She was tall and light-haired, and she immediately reminded both of them of the Gym Leader, Viola. Tochi and Sepal glanced warily at each other.

"Hi!" She beamed at them. I'm Alexa. Viola is my younger sister." Oh...that explained it.

"Viola just called me, and what a scoop! So you two beat her all by yourselves, did you? That's fantas -" She broke off with a grin. "No, that's my sister's catchphrase. I can't pull it off like she can."

"I like her," Sepal commented.

"So I was wondering if I could feature you in a little article of mine. Viola's always bugging me - heh - about getting her gym more press, and this is the perfect opportunity."

"No!" Tochi said immediately, shaking his head to get the point across. More attention was the last thing they needed.

"No...oh. All right then." Alexa pulled something out of her bag. "At least let me give you something, then. It's called an EXP Share."

Tochi and Sepal looked at it. They had both heard of those things and how incredibly useful they were. It'd be nice to have, but it was pretty bulky; it would be irritating to carry around, and it might even rip through their makeshift sack.

"What about this instead?" Sepal asked, pointing to her bag.

Thankfully, Alexa was a lot better at reading Pokemon vine pointing than Viola was. "My- Oh, my bag! Well, all my stuff is in here, but...aw, what the hey. Just a second." She turned the bag over and dumped a horde of pens and paper onto the ground. Finally, she offered them the empty bag, plopping the EXP Share inside at the last moment. "This'll serve you better than the leaf bundle you've got going on there."

"Thanks!" Sepal glowed. The bag was big enough for him to stuff everything they owned, leaves and all, inside. He wondered if more humans would ever be this nice.

"Before you go, can I at least take a picture?" Alexa pulled a familiar rectangular machine from around her neck. "I'm no Viola, of course, but a good reporter always has a camera handy."

Tochi's instincts told him to say no, but he knew that doing so would be a pretty jerk thing to do. This random lady had just given them a bunch of free stuff, after all. He looked at Sepal for confirmation and nodded in assent.

"Wonderful!" Alexa raised her camera. "Smile."

Sepal and Tochi smiled.

She lowered the camera. "Uh...that was just an expression. You don't have to show quite that many teeth."

The Pokemon quickly arranged their faces into something more serious, and Alexa snapped the photo. She examined it while Tochi and Sepal blinked the spots out of their eyes.

"Perfect!" she pronounced. "Thanks a million. I won't be in your way any longer. If you ever want to see me again, I'll be at the Lumiose Press."

"Bye!" Sepal said, as the journalist stepped aside to let them pass.

~*Q*~

"So we have a bag now."

"That's good."

"But we still don't have hands."

"Put it on my back?" Sepal suggested. "You can loop the strap around the bulb. It'll probably fit."

Tochi, who had been dragging the backpack with his teeth for the last ten minutes, went around to do as Sepal suggested. Suddenly, his jaw literally dropped; the bag fell to the ground. "Sepal."

"What?"

"Have you been feeling different lately?"

"Noo…"

"There's something on your back!"

"What?" Sepal futilely craned his neck.

"Your bulb thing! It's pink!"

"...It's not supposed to be pink."

"It's not quite pink - I can see pink inside. It's your flower!"

"The Ivysaur flower?"

"Dude, don't you realize what this means?" Tochi said excitedly. "You're close to evolving!"

Sepal didn't look so enthusiastic. Tochi didn't notice.

"It must be from the Gym battle," he said. "I haven't noticed if I look different. You think so?"

"The fur around your neck is getting fluffier," Sepal observed.

"And I've been feeling this weird craving for carrying a stick around. That's awesome. Evolution always was on my bucket list."

"It is for most Pokemon."

Tochi finally noticed his expression. "You feeling okay?"

"I'm fine…"

That means you're not." Tochi sat down. "Talk to me?"

Sepal was silent.

"Sepal…"

"..."

"Oh. I get it. Are you afraid of evolving?"

"I...sure…"

"Well, it's no problem!" Tochi declared. "I've heard that evolution doesn't hurt at all. And you get really strong and cool and Pokemon take you more seriously. And if you're worried about looking different, well, Bulbasaur to Ivysaur really isn't that weird, is it? Not like mine. Having hands is cool, but imagine being bipedal."

As they walked, Sepal was quieter and more jumpy than usual. "Tochi," he said eventually. "Why do you want to evolve?"

"Well, so Malva will make me a part of her team, obviously," Tochi said, almost cheerfully. "And because, while having four legs is cool and all, I like the idea of Braixen. They're...different. Like a fresh start."

"...so the type change?"

"What?"

"The type change? When you're a Delphox?"

"I'm cool with that. It'll give me more ways to win other than using Flame Charge on everything." Tochi studied Sepal's face. "Seriously, what's wrong?"

"I'm fine. It's nothing."

"You can talk to me later about it, okay?"

As Tochi's attention drifted, Sepal looked away. "...Soon, I won't be able to talk to you at all."

~*Q*~

 **A/N: So Sepal has his own Pokeball now! And he may or may not be hiding something...**

 **Please leave any comments or criticisms you have. I really appreciate it!**

 **~*Akirys*~**


	9. B Button

**A/N: Lots of battles in this one...I have discovered that inserting random Pokemon battles is my way of getting through writers' block. Hey, it's NaNoWriMo! At least I haven't pulled the random-band-of-ninjas trick yet. :D**

 **As you might notice, the end of this chapter is meant to be dramatic. How is it? Good or cheesy? Review, please!**

~*Q*~

The road from Santalune to Lumiose was, thankfully, much shorter than the treacherous maze that was Santalune Forest. It was even very pretty, especially for Sepal. Tall grassy hedges made up nearly two-thirds of the route. However, they were tucked off to the sides, so going through them was only an option. Flowers, neatly planted by human gardeners, adorned the hedges and the large fountain that stood on display in the very center.

"This is nice," Sepal remarked. "Wonder what kind of Pokemon live here."

"Don't know...let's fight them!" Tochi dashed into the grass and left Sepal to follow. After the excitement that had occurred just an hour and a half before, he would have preferred to leave the natives alone and do something a little more peaceful. Watching plants grow, maybe.

"Hey!" Tochi shouted into the grass. "Fight me!"

No one answered. Sepal caught up with him.

"Come on! I'm ready!"

"Tochi, that's kind of obnoxious."

"But I'm not hurting anyone! Yet."

"You're just yelling in their faces!"

"Yeah!" a random Skitty agreed, sounding irritated, before ducking back into the grass to hide.

"I know," Tochi admitted. "But I want to evolve. And I get really -"

"Impatient. I've noticed."

Suddenly, a Vine Whip lashed out and caught Tochi on the side of his face. "Ow! Sepal?"

"Not me."

"Me." From the grass emerged a tiny Flabébé. She was wielding a white flower like a bazooka. "It was I who challenged you!"

"Uh, hi," Tochi said. "I'm Tochi."

"Greetings! You may call me Tueur."

"Twair?"

"No. Tueur. Old Kalosian for _killer!"_

The Flabébé spun the flower in a circle like a fan. Fairy dust blasted forth, coating Tochi in a sparkly layer of grit, but his natural resistance thankfully took off some of the edge.

"Shoot," Tueur said. "You're a Fire-type?"

"Yeah."

"That's annoying. Tackle!"

She rammed her head into Tochi's flank. He blinked.

"Flame Charge!" he decided, lighting himself on fire, and the Fairy-type barely scrambled away before her flower was burnt to cinders. Tochi leaped after her, but she managed to dodge. Not for long, though; he could feel the energy pouring into his limbs, speeding him up like crazy.

The next minute was spent in an odd sort of cat-and mouse. Tochi tried to aim himself at the tiny flower Pokemon, but it turned out that his new favorite attack was mostly just good for running in large circles around a spacious location. Hitting a Flabébé the size of a Sitrus Berry, not so much. Tueur seemed to regain her confidence the more times he missed and hit his head against a tree.

"You can't defeat me!" she declared, blasting him with Fairy Wind again, not that it did much good when it all burnt away from the heat. "I am Tueur, the dragon killer!"

"Lucky I'm not a dragon, then."

"Meh, you're close enough."

"...What's that supposed to mean?"

After two more minutes, Tochi found himself unable to keep up a consistent flame. His Flame Charge slowly flickered and died, leaving him feeling chilly and out of fire. On the bright side, he was probably now fast enough to keep up with a diving Pidgeot. That still didn't help against Tueur.

"You're out of fire!" announced the Flabébé. "I will vanquish you with Tackles!"

Tochi Scratched her. Turns out that her species didn't have much physical defense. Tueur was batted to the ground with that one attack, and, getting the idea, Tochi attempted to pin her down again. It was like catching butterflies wearing a jetpack.

"I am Tueur! I am invinc - " Tochi got in a lucky shot, and she collapsed mid sentence.

"Sorry," Tochi told her prone form. He waited hopefully, but he didn't start glowing. "Aw...I was hoping that last battle would do it. Sepal? Wait up!"

Sepal was leaving him behind. The Fennekin ran after his friend as the slightly-recovered Tueur called after him, "A worthy opponent! See you in the future!"

"Are we just gonna do this for a while?" Sepal wondered, as Tochi caught up with him. "Wander around here while you fight wild Pokemon?"

"I mean, that sounds good to me. But you can leave for a break if you want."

"I shouldn't leave you behind." It was more of a statement than anything.

"I can handle it."

Sepal honestly considered this before shaking his head. "I shouldn't...those gardener people have Corphish. You might be in danger."

Tochi just grinned. "All right then. Come on. We can keep getting closer to Lumiose, at least."

~*Q*~

For a while, Tochi ran around challenging everyone in sight to battles, while Sepal sat in a sunny patch and thought about life. Just like old times, really, but the old times didn't have random Trainers throwing Pokeballs at him when they mistook him for a wild Pokemon. The balls bounced off, and the Trainers apologized and left.

It was nice to carry his new Pokeball around with him. It made him feel even more free than before, ironically; no, maybe 'secure' was the word. Tochi had broken his own Pokeball, but Sepal understood that. He remembered how Tochi had protected him when he was about to get caught. Now the situations could be reversed, and Sepal wouldn't even need to attack the Trainer. He'd just have to act as a living, Pokeball-repelling shield.

All of a sudden, Sepal realized that Tochi was bounding towards him; no, more like flat-out running. Sepal got to his feet. "What is it?"

"Uh...I may have angered someone." A Trainer was charging towards them, yelling "Get back here!"

"Tochi!"

"What?"

"What did you do?"

"...attacked her Pokemon from behind."

"That's cheap."

"Come on, it was a Doduo! I thought it was looking out for something!"

Sepal didn't say anything, having been fixated on the angry Trainer that was less than ten yards away. "We should probably run now."

"Yeah."

Tochi and Sepal turned tail and ran in the direction of Lumiose - at the very least, they'd have witnesses if the Doduo's owner she something she might regret. The Trainer released her Doduo, who easily caught up with the two and attempted to slow them down, pecking at both of them at once and trying to make them stumble.

Sepal reached behind him and managed to trip up the Doduo with his vine. The giant bird tumbled to the ground and caused its Trainer to fall on top of it.

"There's the gate to the city!" Tochi cried.

They burst through the doorway. Unlike the one leading to Victory Road, this gate was unimpressive; even if it were just as fancy, they wouldn't have spared it any attention. A dozing security guard woke with a start as two starters came barreling through, followed fifteen seconds later by a furious Trainer and her Flying-type.

As soon as they entered Lumiose, Sepal stopped dead. Tochi pulled at him. "Come on! We're in a chase!"

"It's Lumiose, Tochi!" Sepal could only say. "Look at all the buildings!" Not only were there pristine human dwelling places that stretched to the sky, but hordes of humans were wandering through the street and jabbering about whatever it was humans were interested in.

"I wanna admire it, but later," Tochi admitted. "Right now -"

Predictably, they were interrupted by a Doduo landing almost on top of them. The only good news was that his Trainer had apparently gotten lost in the crowds of passersby.

Tochi had an idea. "Sepal! Get lost."

"Uh…"

"You know what I mean!" Tochi dodged a Doduo beak and retaliated with a hasty Ember. "If you hide in the crowd, he'll go after me and not you."

"I can hear you strategizing," the Doduo said, hurt.

"Doesn't mean you won't do it. Run, Sepal!"

Sepal bolted off. The Doduo tried to subvert Tochi's expectations by following the Bulbasaur instead of him - he had apparently forgotten that his issue had been with the Fennekin in the first place. Tochi was too close to the passersby to get full use of Flame Charge. He did manage to control his body temperature to barely below the bursting-into-flames point, making him like an oven to the touch and slightly raising his agility.

The Doduo used Quick Attack as Tochi fled, but withdrew with a squawk of pain when he made contact. Tochi could no longer lose him in one of the crowds for fear of burning one of the humans badly. Instead, he simply fled in a random direction and hoped that the Pokemon couldn't follow where he was going.

The Doduo tried to chase after him again, but the Trainer caught up with the Doduo and patted him on the neck soothingly. She had apparently decided that chasing two unevolved runts was not worth the trouble. Tochi breathed a sigh of relief and, letting his temperature sink back to normal, went off to find Sepal.

He found him staring slack-jawed at all the buildings, too amazed to notice that he was sitting in plain sight in the middle of the street. Tochi stood next to him.

"Have you ever seen anything so _tall?"_

"Nope."

"It's...wow."

Tochi let him sightsee for a few minutes. "Hey, c'mon. Let's find the Pokemon Center."

"Then can we look around?"

"Well, we can do that while we find the Gym Leader…"

"The Gym Leader! Tochi, we just fought one a few hours ago."

"...so?"

"So we can take a break."

"And do what?" Tochi said incredulously.

"Explore! We're in the biggest city ever! The heart of Kalos!"

"But...shopping is boring. And fighting is cool."

Sepal just rolled his eyes. "Let's find the Center first." He was the one to drag the other along this time.

Lumiose soon revealed to them its Dark Side: it was practically impossible to navigate. Not only was it far, far bigger than any of the cities they had ever been to, but they had no means of being able to tell where their destination was. The abundance of humans made it difficult to see the signs on the buildings - both Tochi and Sepal had never felt smaller.

"Are we there yet?" Tochi asked.

"Dunno."

"Oh. " Tochi's ears pricked up. "Maybe it's over here!" He led the way to a big gate with a giant number 5 hanging over it. Tochi had learned to read from text (and video games) left around the center, but Sepal had never bothered.

"What's that symbol?" Sepal asked.

"It's a five."

"Then why is there a five there?"

"Maybe it means...five Pokemon Centers are this way?"

"There probably _would_ need to be five centers just to fit all the people and Pokemon," Sepal theorized. "And maybe they can't all fit inside the city."

"Worth a try," Tochi said. They stepped through the gate.

The other end turned out to be another route, but this one was partially taken up by a yellow park, like a field for Gym battles, except it was made up of hills and dips. A couple of colorful ramps crisscrossed the area too. Several humans, all in familiar-looking wheeled shoes, were sliding around in it.

"That's not a Pokemon center," Sepal said.

"Right," Tochi agreed. "And I guess the center wouldn't be any further ahead."

"Should we turn back?"

"Hey, you!" Tochi and Sepal turned to see an unfamiliar Pokemon glaring at them.

"What are you?" Tochi asked.

"What, you don't know?" the Pokemon retorted. This time, Tochi and Sepal listened more carefully to his words. Underneath the language was an undertone of "Skiddo, skid!", like what humans could only hear.

The starters turned to each other for a quick debate. "Ditto?"

"I'm pretty sure he said Kiddo."

"Wait, there was an 's' sound in there somewhere."

"Are you even paying attention to me?" Skiddo asked, deeply offended.

"Sicko!"

"Oh! Sicko. That must have been it."

Skiddo seethed silently. "Look here, I was going to politely ask you to get off my Leech Seed garden, but now you're not leaving here without a fight!"

"Why would you have a Leech Seed garden?" Sepal asked.

The Skiddo looked flustered. "I mean...haven't you ever wondered what Leech Seeds would actually grow into?"

"No," confessed Tochi.

"Forget it," Skiddo mumbled. He started using Growth, and the brown Pokemon began to grow in size.

"I'll battle," Sepal said quickly.

"Oh." Tochi, anxious to evolve, had been about to volunteer. "Sure."

Sepal stepped forward. The Pokemon, now over four feet tall, the size of a Nidoqueen, loomed over him.

Sepal started off with a Tackle. The Skiddo was big, but it reeled in pain - even though its attacking ability was through the roof, its defenses probably still weren't the greatest.

The Skiddo tackled back. Sepal tried and failed to dodge. Considering the opponent's boost in strength, it hurt like absolutely heck.

The next few minutes were spent Tackling back and forth as Tochi watched on the sidelines. Sepal and the Skiddo had similar battle styles, and they were both of the strong-but-slow variety. This was especially frustrating for Sepal; he had to rely on Tackling him over and over because his signature stealth seed had failed to take hold about four times in a row.

Wait. If Skiddo had made his own Leech Seed for his garden, didn't that mean he was a Grass type - that is, immune to Leech Seed?

Well, that was five minutes of his life wasted.

"Need me to take over?" Tochi asked anxiously.

"N -" Sepal was hit by the Skiddo yet again, and he felt an awful wave of dizziness as he crashed to the ground. "I - yeah. Go get him."

They switched places. Skiddo was looking quite proud of himself, even though he has completely crushed the remains of his Leech Seed garden from charging all over the place.

"You ready for this?" Tochi lit himself on fire. He was seriously overusing Flame Charge, but it was _so much fun._

"Bring it!"

Tochi leaped forward and crashed into the center of the Skiddo's chest. He yelped and staggered backwards. "That wasn't nice!"

 _"Nice?"_

"Not nice at all." The Skiddo turned his back on Tochi, wagging his tail dejectedly. Tochi was transfixed. The giant furry plant Pokemon looked so...so _sad._

"Tochi…" Sepal warned.

And then Tochi was donkey-kicked in the face by the Skiddo as soon as his guard was down. Stupid Tail Whip.

"All right, we're finishing this." Tochi raised his head and Howled as loudly as he could. He had never tried the attack before, so his voice was a bit rusty, but it did the trick. He felt a surge of power.

The Skiddo backed up, realizing what was going on, and tried to assume a defensive posture. Tochi, hopped up on Flame Charge and Howl energy, raced forwards and hit the Skiddo for only the second time. The Pokemon crashed to the ground.

"Whew." Tochi powered himself down as Sepal set to work replanting the Skiddo's Leech Seed garden.

"Thanks." The Skiddo noticed Sepal as he shook his head to clear it. "When it comes to my plants, I get...possessive."

"Mhm." Sepal, in more need of a Pokemon Center than ever, adjusted the bag on his back and turned to leave. After a few seconds he realized that Tochi wasn't following him. "Tochi?"

Tochi was staring at himself, captivated. Something was happening. Something _big_. A white glow was starting at his paws and slowly issuing upwards.

"...Tochi?!"

"Sepal!" Tochi cried. "It...it's happening! I'm evolving!"

He was grinning as the glow brightened and covered his whole body, blocking out his field of vision with white light. But something was horribly wrong. Sepal was staring at him, not with joy or even jealousy, but with _absolute terror._

"Se - ?" Tochi's question was cut off as his body started to morph. He could only watch.

Sepal took a step backwards, then two. He couldn't tear his eyes off of Tochi. "I - I can't - I'm -"

Then he turned and ran.

Tochi wanted to scream his friend's name, but he was locked in place. He had to stop evolving! There was something terrible going on with Sepal, and the evolution had caused it! He had to stop!

Tochi's body was unstable, caught halfway between a Fennekin and a Braixen. He felt like he was melting, but he could vaguely make out the sensation of having a tail far too big for him, two absurdly long hind legs, and skinny front legs that had migrated to either side of his shoulders. His head was still the same; this might be his last shot. Tochi took a deep breath, right in the middle of his evolution, and concentrated. Not Braixen. Fennekin. Fennekin Fennekin Fennekin. Small. Four-legged. No sticks. Pure Fire-type.

Not Braixen.

He didn't think it was working at first. Then Tochi realized he was shrinking. He kept up his concentration, and ever so slowly, his anatomy faded to normalcy.

Tochi collapsed. He had never felt more tired in his life.

"...What just happened?" the terrified Skiddo asked.

"Sepal." Tochi leaped to his feet. "Where'd he go?!" The Skiddo motioned in the direction of Lumiose.

Without skipping a beat, Tochi ran, ignoring the part of him that wanted to curl up and faint on the ground. Unfortunately, Lumiose City hadn't changed. It was still big and grand and absolutely impossible to find anything in.

Tochi searched for hours. He combed every square inch of the area around the Route 5 gate. He retraced their steps back to Santalune. He returned to Lumiose and ran blindly around the city, calling Sepal's name in intervals, keeping his ears straining for any hint of a bag rustling or a vine stretching out. But it was no use.

Sepal was gone.

~*Q*~

In another corner of the city, Sepal curled up in a ball and sobbed.

 _"_ _Psychics..."_

~*Q*~


	10. The Conflict

**A/N: I tried something new in this chapter by alternating POVs. Let me know how it turned out!**

 **Also, tenth chapter spectacular! My first story to be that long.**

 **~*Q*~**

"Sepal? Sepal!"

Tochi was lost. He had ran so many circles around Lumiose that his sense of direction had disappeared. He had no food. He had no badge. And, most importantly, he had no friend. Sepal was nowhere to be found.

The sun was finally going down. Had they really fought Viola together earlier that day? It was unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable.

He trudged around in more circles until he came across a Pokemon Center. If he went inside, it would feel like defeat.

He sat there, looking around and keeping his ears at full attention. No familiar sounds. Not even a splash of green. Tochi sat there for ten more minutes, aggressively ignoring the curious Trainers and other Pokemon. Sepal had to be around here somewhere...he had to be.

When he went inside the Center, Nurse Joy practically fell over the countertop as she leaned towards him in concern. "My goodness! Poor little Fennekin, you look terrible."

"I am," he said.

~*Q*~

Sepal was lost, and terrified.

Tochi was gone, he decided. There was only a Braixen involved now. A Braixen probably wandering around the city, seeking him out at this very moment…

He went into another full-blown panic attack and changed directions. He had absolutely no destination in mind. He just needed to leave. Get as much distance as possible.

What about Tochi? he wondered briefly. His step wavered, but Sepal didn't stop. Tochi...wasn't the same anymore. Sepal knew he would miss him painfully, but there was no old Tochi to return to.

There! A familiar landmark. It was the gate leading back to Route 4, and Santalune from there. He would leave the city and find his way back to Vaniville on his own. The owners of the VSC would be happy to see him. He would stay away from any Trainers looking for a starter and live a happy rest of his life in the Center, all alone.

Sepal stopped to set down his bag. Maybe Tochi, or what was left of him, would find it and take his badge back. Then he could go on with...the rest of his life. His journey to reach Malva. Sepal didn't care.

 _"Bonjour!"_

Sepal blanched and looked up. A dark-haired human was standing over him with a smile. "You look a bit lost, _oui?_ Would you like to talk about it?"

His outfit, his dark hair, and his mannerisms - his way of peppering Old Kalosian into his speech - were strikingly familiar. Sepal knew he had met this human before.

Then it struck him - this man had visited them right at the Vaniville Starter Center several times before. It was Professor Sycamore.

~*Q*~

Tochi had refused to let Nurse Joy put him in a Pokeball. He instead sat stiffly and endured her fussing as she sprayed a Max Potion over him.

"Not many exterior wounds," she murmured pensively. "You sure seem sick, though, Fennekin. You know where your Trainer is?"

 _"I don't_ -" Tochi snapped, but realized he didn't have the energy for yelling. "I don't have one."

This nurse was better at Pokemon speak than the others. "Huh. Well, we'd best get you to a room, then. Sleep it off, okay?"

It was dark out, but as Tochi curled up alone on his rented bed, he barely felt tired. Defeated, yes, but not tired. He could still go out there and search.

How, by ears and nose alone? That wasn't too implausible, honestly, but it would still be near hopeless in a city like Lumiose. He could use Flame Charge or Ember, but his fire couldn't light up an entire night.

As Tochi drifted further and further into sleep, his thoughts turned to the battle against Viola. He clung to it like a lifeline; it felt like his last - or only - happy memory. They had a goal. They had worked as a team. And they had _won._ But most importantly, or so it felt, was that they hadn't had any secrets from each other. They had simply...understood.

Tochi knew that he could wander around Lumiose for his entire life and still be guilt-ridden over wondering what he did wrong. He thought he and Sepal knew each other better than anyone, but apparently, there were some fears that Sepal had felt were too secret even for him. Whatever it was, Tochi had tripped over that fear without even meaning to. And he still didn't know what that fear was.

He had never felt so alone, or especially so _guilty…_

~*Q*~

Professor Sycamore led Sepal into a building which he explained was his 'lab,' and from there, into a tiny elevator. Sepal was still jumpy, and the strange human machine awakened claustrophobia he didn't even know he had.

 _"Calmez-vous,_ " Professor Sycamore soothed. "We would take the stairs, but I'm afraid there are none."

Marginally comforted, Sepal went inside the elevator. He and the professor didn't talk much as the machine zoomed upwards. Sycamore seemed to be letting him get his bearings.

The elevator stopped short, and Sycamore let him off. "My lab," he pronounced. "A bit small, I'm afraid. But many great discoveries have been made here."

"Cool," Sepal said timidly.

"Indeed."

"Professor," Sepal asked, "how much Pokemon do you understand?"

His forehead wrinkled. _"Un peu,"_ he answered. "But I did once own a Bulbasaur myself, so I'm quite skilled in your language specifically."

"Why do you speak Old Kalosian?"

"Because it makes me sound _chic_ , my young Pokemon!"

The professor showed him to his desk at the other end of the room. He let Sepal curl up on the deskchair as he pulled tea, mugs, and a wrapped pack of berry cookies from various places around the room.

"I'm, uh, not really hungry," Sepal said. "It's late."

"These cookies and this tea are made from Sitrus berries," Sycamore said reassuringly. "And you look like you need your strength back, no? At least let me pour it. You can only pretend to drink if you'd like."

Sepal settled into the chair as Sycamore busied himself, pouring beverages and pulling a second chair over from across the room. They were the only ones in the room; the professor's helpers must have gone home for the night. Sepal grew comfortable - almost too comfortable. He was dozing off in the chair when Sycamore's kind voice spoke up.

"So what's wrong?"

"Hm?"

"You're upset."

"...yeah…"

"Would you like to talk about it?"

Sepal looked at the professor and just shook his head. His throat felt tight; he didn't think he could talk if he wanted to.

The professor just waited patiently. When Sepal remained silent, he changed the subject (or maybe he was probing further; it was hard to tell). "I see you have a Bug Badge."

"Yes."

"That's quite the accomplishment. Are you from the Vaniville Starter Center?"

"Yes."

"Ah, good. I'm a big supporter of the place myself. You know, Sepal…"

Sepal looked up. "I didn't tell you my name."

"I know." Sycamore handed him a newspaper. "You've garnered a bit of attention."

"I can't read." He could, however, see the the page had an image of Sepal and Tochi on it, and that didn't bode well.

"Oh...I forgot, forgive me." Professor Sycamore took the page back and cleared his throat: "'A Fennekin by the name of "Tochi" and a Bulbasaur by the name of "Sepal" have escaped from the Vaniville Starter Center in southern Vaniville. Please contact if you have any further information.' That was what the first edition said. This is the second edition; many people saw your battle against Viola and called in."

"Uh oh."

"While some want to capture you two and turn you in for a possible reward, others are just as eager to see you two succeed. It's quite a feat, after all."

"Which side are you on?" Sycamore only smiled.

"I see you're not with Tochi," he commented, examining the picture.

Sepal shuddered involuntarily. "No."

Sycamore raised his eyebrow. He knew he had stumbled on something.

The Bulbasaur didn't make eye contact as he said, "It's complicated. I...I'm afraid."

"Of Tochi? Why?"

"Well...h-he evolved."

 _"Tres bien!"_

"No!" Sepal burst out. "Because…"

"...because…?"

Sepal shrank down. "Psychic-types."

Professor Sycamore, steepling his fingers on the table, seemed to consider this. "Ah. I see. Well, many Pokemon have a psychological fear of the types that are effective against them -"

 _"No,"_ Sepal insisted. "It's more than that."

"I'm listening."

"Well…" Sepal's voice quivered as he spoke. "I think I've always been afraid. I moved to the VSC a month after I hatched, but before then I lived with my parents in the other half of the center, the breeding section. Mom was gone a lot, but Dad would tell me stories. He once told me about this lady, this Gym Leader, and her named was Olympia...well, Dad was a Venusaur on a really cool Trainer's team for the longest time. And he went into Olympia's gym, and she trained Psychic-types...and she had this Meowstic for her main Pokemon, and Dad said he went up against it and it just completely _annihilated_ him, and Dad was this big fully-evolved Pokemon against a Meowstic and he couldn't do _anything._ His trainer was really upset and disbanded his team for a little bit, which included putting Dad at the starter center. And after he took care of me for two weeks, he left because his Trainer wanted him back. And I don't know where he is, or if he ever beat that Meowstic."

Professor Sycamore nodded. "I see."

But Sepal was on a roll. "But also…! it's like, Psychic-types can just get inside your head, you know? And they're really smart and there's nothing you can do about it. And there's something else…"

"Go on."

"You know why Grass-types are weak to Fire and Ice?"

"Of course. You have an inherent connection with nature; therefore, temperature affects you greatly."

"And poison?"

"Almost the same reason. Poison is effective on most Grass-types because of your susceptibility to absorbing toxins - especially herbicides."

"Right. Now poison, why are Poison-types weak to Ground?"

"That's tricky. We think it's because ground acts as a landfill for the poison; in modern days, we dispel trash by burying it underground."

Sepal nodded. "And psychic?"

Sycamore just frowned. "That's one of the most difficult type matchups for us to comprehend...we assume that it connects with mind-over-matter, or the fact that deep meditation can purify the mind, but -"

"But you don't _really_ know." Sepal shook his head. "And that's what scares me the most. If I get hit with a Psychic-type attack...what's going to happen to me?"

Sepal was trembling, so the professor put a hand on his back. "It's all right. It's all in your head. Tochi is still your friend, is he not?"

"I don't know anymore."

"Just because he's a Braixen doesn't mean he's not the same inside. And, actually, Braixen aren't even Psychic-types."

"Yet. And they know the Psychic moves. That's the scary part."

Professor Sycamore patted him. "I understand. But remember that evolution doesn't change who you are on the inside. All Pokemon should know that."

"I just want to go home," Sepal said despondently.

"Sleep on it before deciding, _oui?_ You can stay here if you'd like. Maybe you'll find more courage in the morning."

Sepal sighed. "Maybe…"

Professor Sycamore gave him a last pat and retreated from the office, going on his way home to pack up for the night. Sepal was left alone.

He regarded the uneaten cookies and tea wearily and curled up in the desk chair. Sleeping would alleviate his confusion - for a few hours, at least.

~*Q*~

Tochi woke up just after dawn. He looked around blearily - and then the day before came crashing back down on him. He groaned and rolled onto his back, making a silent pact to stay in bed and mope for the rest of the day.

But wait - he couldn't. If he gave up now, he might never find Sepal again. Who knew - chances were that he had already left the city.

Tochi quashed his inner pessimism. There was no reason to assume that Sepal had been _that_ afraid of whatever-had-just-happened. Maybe he was still hanging around Lumiose, too afraid to seek out Tochi, but not wanting to leave him behind. Tochi could only hope that was the case - unfortunately, 'hope' wasn't his strong suit.

The Fennekin hopped off his bed and looked out the window. All he could see were buildings and streets. Really, how many dozens of Vaniville Starter Centers - pastures and all - could fit inside this place?

Tochi left the hotel room and started his trek around the city. After fifteen minutes, he had to admit it seemed hopeless. Too much space and too small of a Pokemon.

"Argh!" Tochi nearly set a nearby tree on fire. Why couldn't it just be simple?

What would Sepal do?

Sit in the sun for a while, probably. Tochi sat down by the tree he had nearly torched. After five minutes he started getting itchy and paced around in circles instead.

Step two: be philosophical. No, scratch that. He wouldn't even try.

Step three...keep calm and take it in.

Tochi took a deep breath and examined the city with different eyes. Flowers decorated the buildings. Humans smiled and laughed at street vendors. A dark-haired woman peered out of the second floor of an office building and whipped the curtains shut.

But wait! Wherever he turned, there was one constant: the Prism Tower. It stood light a lighthouse in the center of Lumiose. If he made his way there, he could finally get his bearings. And inside Prism Tower was also the Gym Leader.

It hit him, then, like a bolt of lightning: if he battled the Gym Leader, he would stop feeling helpless. He would have a goal in mind. He might even catch Sepal's attention if he could get the news back to Vaniville somehow.

"Okay then," Tochi told himself. "It's settled." He was going to challenge the Gym Leader.

~*Q*~

"Sleep well?" Professor Sycamore asked.

"Mhm." Sepal had slept until dawn - being a late riser, this was a rarity for him. But in the hour it took for the professor to get to his office, he had gotten a lot of time to think. As Sycamore cleaned up the cold tea and refreshments, other scientists trickled into the building with cups of coffee and started to boot up various projects.

"I think...I'll stay in Lumiose."

 _"Merveilleux!"_

"But I'm still not sure what to do. About Tochi, I mean."

"Well," Sycamore said, "if you're staying in Lumiose but not tracking your friend down, what point is there?"

"You're right," Sepal said slowly. "Right! I don't care if Tochi is a Braixen now. He's still my friend and I'm being stupid. He's not even a real Psychic-type."

"If he evolves into Delphox, then, will you run away a second time?"

"...No," Sepal said firmly.

"Very good. What will you do now?"

"Well…" Sepal said carefully. "I thought about that too. And there isn't going to be very many ways to track Tochi down unless I get help from someone who knows the city really well."

"Uh huh. And I thought - there's one person who practically built the city from scratch, and who Tochi is really likely to gravitate to. Clemont."

"The Gym Leader." Sycamore sipped the cold day-old Sitrus tea, hardly realizing what he was doing. "So young, but so much talent."

Sepal nodded. "I've got the badges. I'm getting stronger. And I can get his help finding Tochi if I win. So I'll do it."

He was going to challenge the Gym Leader.

~*Q*~

 **A/N: Quick apologies for the gratuitous French on Sycamore's end; quick Google Translations searches can only take you so far.**

 **Anyways, I hope you enjoyed! Leave a review, if you please!**

 **~*Akirys*~**


	11. This Fight Is Even Worse!

**A/N: This is a double upload! I am uploading two chapters at once. More than one chapter a day might start to happen frequently; my deadline is approaching! :O Anyways, another Gym Battle chapter. Please read and review; I hope you enjoy!**

 **~*Q*~**

"One thing before you go." Professor Sycamore led Sepal to a video screen built into the wall. "It's a very recent invention that another professor - Professor Birch - is collaborating on with me. It's supposed to teach a Pokemon a move normally learned through tutoring, but from a long-distance range. I believe learning a new move will greatly help you in the future. Would you like to try it?"

"What move?" Sepal asked cautiously.

"A Dark one. Knock Off."

Sepal accepted and curiously stood before the machine. It displayed a video of a Crawdaunt punching a dummy with a claw that glowed black. That was it, really. But then a narrator's voice came on, outlining the steps the Pokemon used and drawing little squiggly arrows around the Crawdaunt. Sepal mimicked it at Sycamore's encouragement. He was startled when his vine, suddenly glowing dark purple, smacked into the wall and knocked off a chip of metal.

" _Ha!_ It worked!" The professor happily switched the program off. "Thank you very much, my friend. I've been wanting to test that out for a while, but none of the Pokemon my associates know can learn Knock Off in general. Having a Dark-type move may make you a little more secure of mind, yes?"

"I hope so." Feeling oddly powerful, Sepal shuffled over to pick up his bag. He hadn't noticed that Professor Sycamore had slipped a stone - striped and blue - inside it, as well as a note. "Goodbye, Professor. And thank you."

"Anytime, Sepal. _Bonne chance!"_

~*Q*~

Tochi didn't waste any time in leaving. He didn't have anything with him, so he just...stood up and walked. Right towards the middle of the city.

While the Prism Tower looked close, it was actually much farther away than he'd expected. It must have had something to do with how big it was.

Eventually, Tochi saw a big brown Pokemon that looked like an evolved form of Skiddo. She was waiting patiently next to a sign. Tochi trotted up to her until he was close enough to read it: _Gogoat Shuttle._

"Shuttle?" Tochi asked.

"Of course!" the Gogoat replied, tossing her horns. "We can cross the city with anyone. Go, Gogoat!"

"Well, I was going to just ask for a shortcut," Tochi said, "but that's better. Can you give me a ride to Prism Tower?"

Gogoat looked down at him. "Sorry, I meant we only serve Trainers. Trainers who have money."

"I have -" He remembered that he no longer had a bag.

"You could try a taxi, but they need money too," Gogoat said. "Guess you're out of luck!"

"Isn't there anything I can do?"

Gogoat started to shake her head, but she suddenly stopped with a downright devious expression on her face. "Well…"

"Well?"

"My break's just about coming up. I'll give you a ride then - but only if you can stay on."

"...what?"

~*Q*~

The Gogoat charged across Lumiose at top speed, purposely throwing her body back and forth like a rodeo Tauros.

" _AHHHHHHH!"_ Tochi screamed.

"Isn't this fun?"

" _Nooooooo!"_

"Only ten more minutes!"

~*Q*~

After what felt like considerably longer than ten minutes, the Gogoat stopped in Centrico Plaza and cheerfully deposited Tochi on the ground.

"Was that...some form of sick, twisted entertainment to you?!" Tochi gasped as he lay on the road and tried to make the world stop spinning.

"Well, of course it was," Gogoat said with a roll of her eyes. "Otherwise I wouldn't have done it for free."

"You're _sick!"_

"Thanks for the exercise!" The Gogoat trotted off.

Tochi lay there until he got his breath back. He finally managed to stand up and tottered towards Prism Tower, muttering "What is it with me and sadists lately…"

The inside of the tower was more plain than he expected. There was an elevator in the center, though; that was probably where all the action was.

"Hi! What's up?"

Tochi looked at the human curiously. "Aren't you that guy from the other Gym?"

"Didn't catch that," he said blithely. "My brother called me yesterday and told me all about you guys! Where's the other one?"

"Not here," Tochi said sourly. He went into the elevator without another word.

The elevator rose for a short while and opened on the next floor with a _ding!_ The lights came on, and Tochi found himself in front of a platform. A little girl stood to the left, and three Trainers guarded three elevators at the back of the room.

"Welcome!" the girl said cheerfully, then stopped short. "You're not a Trainer."

"You're not gonna make me go through the whole just-because-I'm-not-a-Trainer-doesn't-mean-I-don't-want-my-badge thing, are you?" Tochi asked tiredly.

The girl blinked and quickly conferred with the three other Trainers, one of whom managed a rough translation ("He wants to fight, or maybe possibly eat our badges.") Bonnie quickly regained her smile.

"Well, that's fine with me, and probably my big brother too! Got any badges yet?"

"One. But it's not with me."

Bonnie listened to the translator girl. "Okay. Everybody, tell the other Trainers and Clemont to use their two-badge-Trainer teams!

"Right! Mister Fennekin, my name's Bonnie. Just because you're a Pokemon doesn't mean you're gonna escape my quiz show. Of DOOM! I'll show you a Pokemon silhouette, and you have to figure out what it is, okay?"

Tochi sat on his haunches. "Yeah. I'm ready."

Bonnie pressed a button. The obvious shadow of a Fletchling appeared.

"...you've gotta be kidding me."

~*Q*~

Tochi made his way up the tower with no trouble. Being a Pokemon himself, the "quiz" questions weren't actually hard. As for the Trainers' Pokemon, there were only one each, and he found that running them over with Flame Charge a few times wasn't that much trouble.

One, he spotted that familiar white light starting at his feet again, but he forced it away and continued up the next elevator.

After only three floors, Tochi made it to who he assumed was the Gym Leader. He was fiddling with a little mechanical device, which he dropped in surprise when Tochi yapped to get his attention. "Oh! I'm sorry. I didn't realize you'd come in."

"Clemont!" Bonnie rose from the floor on top of her platform. "Don't embarrass me!"

"All _right,_ fine, Bonnie...Ahem! Er, Fennekin! As leader of the Lumiose City Gym and giver of the Voltage Badge, I challenge you to a battle!"

He released his first Pokemon, Magnemite, and stepped backwards. Tochi promptly used an Ember to set it on fire. The Magnet Pokemon buzzed frantically and rolled around on the ground in an attempt to put itself out.

"Shake it off, Mag!" Clemont coaxed. "Thunder Wave!"

Magnemite, angered, glared at Tochi and zapped him. He was ready to laugh it off when he realized that _this_ kind of electricity was much different than the jolts he had received downstairs. This one locked up his muscles like it was gluing him in place.

Tochi struggled against the paralysis like he was caught in a windstorm. He fired another Ember at the Magnemite, but it buzzed gleefully and dodged, not before sending a Sonic Boom his way - one that made his ears ring.

"Trying to slow me down?" Tochi managed. "Try this!"

He activated Flame Charge, trying to fool his body into concentrating on the heat instead of the paralysis. It worked, sort of; the flames managed to warm him up enough to trot forward a few steps, then break into a run. He ran flaming loops around the Magnemite until he decided he was sufficiently fast enough and rammed into the Magnemite with all his might.

" _Can't-undo-Thunder-Wave!"_ Magnemite said in a staticky voice. " _No-fair!"_

Sadly, Tochi still hadn't. The paralysis suddenly flared up again, causing Tochi to trip head-over-heels and give the Magnemite a chance to check itself over for scorch marks or melted machinery.

"Someone's downstairs!" Bonnie said suddenly, tearing her eyes from the battle when something beeped on the railing of her platform. "Gotta go, big bro."

Clemont wasn't listening. "Magnemite, use Supersonic!"

"Oh boy," Tochi said, and hit the dirt.

A wail of screeching metal arose from the Magnemite, and even with his ears covered by both his paws and a sheet of fire, Tochi couldn't take it. He immediately grew disoriented, letting his Charge flicker to a stop. The Fennekin ended up stumbling randomly around the field trying to get his ears to stop feeling like lava. (And not the non-painful kind, either.)

Without letting him recover, Magnemite hit him with another Sonic Boom. It didn't have as much of an effect on his because he was half-deaf already, but it did make him slam his face on the ground.

"...I wonder if using a close-ranged sound-based attack on a Pokemon with a high capacity for audio input was a good idea?" Clemont worried.

Magnemite, seemingly abashed, stayed at a distance, halfheartedly pretending to attack as Tochi's hearing slowly recovered. However, the Fennekin managed to shake off the confusion without letting his opponent catch on. He kept staggering around, pretending that he was closing in on Magnemite entirely by accident, and then abruptly burst into flames and tackled Magnemite out of the air.

The Magnemite buzzed in pain and shocked Tochi several times, but he grit his teeth and bore it. The Magnemite endured several seconds of Flame Charge proximity before waving the white flag; his screws were starting to melt.

"Excellent!" Clemont praised. "But it's not over yet!"

Tochi was about to respond when the paralysis prickled over him again. He grimaced and rode it out while Clemont returned Magnemite and fished out his second Pokeball.

"Heliolisk! Go!"

A yellow, frilled lizard burst into the arena and chirped a battle cry. Tochi activated Flame Charge and ran at him without preamble. The Heliolisk used a Quick Attack to dash out of the way, but the tip of his tail was still caught in the flames.

"Strategy time, Heli!" Clemont announced. "Rain Dance!"

"Rain _what?"_

Heliolisk stopped in place and began to jump up and down. Tochi charged again, desperate to stop him, but the Heliolisk jumped over his head and kept moving. Soon, clouds formed above their heads as the Pokemon triggered a downpour.

Tochi groaned. His fire shield sputtered; rainwater was already dripping off his ears. "Oh, great."

"Surf!"

" _WHAT?"_

The Pokemon generated a tidal wave, apparently from nowhere, and ran towards Tochi. Tochi tried to run, but the wave extended ten feet to either side, and the paralysis rendered him unable to escape. The water crashed into him, knocking him off his feet and even sweeping him underwater for a terrifying few seconds.

He had never been hit by a super-effective attack before. He was not happy to experience it.

"Just spam Surf!" Clemont called out. Heliolisk grinned and conjured up another wave.

"Some genius you are!" Tochi complained. This time he was ready and managed to dodge the Electric-type's attack. The paralysis was a ticking time bomb, though. Pretty soon his muscles would betray him, and he wasn't sure how many more rounds of Surf he'd be able to take.

By now the entire floor was drenched. The Heliolisk directed a wave towards him, somehow balancing on top of it, and Tochi just barely avoided the brunt of the attack; still, the edge of the Surf swept him off his feet again. He hit the ground and rolled hard. Thanks to the soaked floor, stepping anywhere was uncomfortable, let alone rolling around on it.

Wait...drenched floor... _Electric-type Gym._

Clemont realized this at almost the same times as he did. "Heliolisk! Parabolic Charge on the ground!"

Heliolisk stabbed his electrified fist downwards. Tochi tried to jump, but he only ended up falling back into a wet, electrocuted mess. The Heliolisk could have easily kept up its attack and zapped Tochi into unconsciousness from a distance, but Tochi woozily summoned an Ember and threw off Heliolisk's concentration. Thirty seconds later of soaking in the rain, though, and he looked almost as good as new. He must have had the ability Dry Skin.

This fight was going _terribly,_ and Tochi had thought his fight against Vivillon was a nightmare. Speaking of abilities, Blaze was only seconds from activating - he could feel a red tint clouding his vision. He wasn't sure how much it could do, though, in the middle of a veritable swamp with rainwater pouring onto it.

Oh well. Might as well go out on a high note.

"All right, you...weird electric thing, you...are you ready to -"

And that was when Bonnie returned bearing a friend.

"Sorry, big bro! Someone needed to do the quiz, a -"

"Sepal?"

" _Tochi?"_

"I thought - I thought you -" Tochi abandoned to the battle and dashed over to Sepal. He had arrived through the elevator just behind the battlefield; like Tochi, the Pokemon questions didn't appear to have bothered him. He had the bag from Alexa slung over his bag as usual, and he didn't seem outwardly different than the last time they had been together. Still, something about Sepal was different. He seemed a little bit more on edge than usual, or maybe he was actually more downtrodden?

Meanwhile, Heliolisk looked back at Clemont in confusion. The Gym Leader waved his hand, indicating for him to wait and halt the battle for a few minutes.

"What...happened?" Tochi asked cautiously. "When you ran away?"

"Tell you later," Sepal mumbled. "Um...you didn't evolve?"

Tochi blinked. "No...I stopped it. I had to go after it."

For some reason Sepal started giggling hysterically. Tochi joined in. Both the humans (and Heliolisk) stood there and watched awkwardly.

"Um…" Bonnie said.

Sepal coughed and changed the subject. "You're challenging the Gym Leader."

"Yeah."

"Doesn't look like it's going very well." He splashed his feet in the puddles of water as a demonstration. Tochi realized how much of a mess he must look like.

"Not really."

"Well, that's kind of the reason I came here," Sepal said hesitantly. "I mean - I didn't think you'd be here. But I thought I could battle the Gym for you…"

Tochi grinned weakly. "Well, if you wanna switch out, I have no objection."

"Hey, wait!" Heliolisk protested. "Isn't that cheating?"

"Only about as much as switching out a team member is!" Tochi snapped. Being paralyzed and drenched in water, his feelings toward the Electric-type were not particularly warm.

The Heliolisk turned to his Trainer to complain instead. Clemont whipped out a little Pokemon-translator machine and read it as his Pokemon spoke.

"Well, I _guess_ it's not violating any rules...he said doubtfully. "As long as you guys actually worked together before this."

"We did," Sepal said reassuringly. He shook the bag off of him and stepped forwards. "Relax, Tochi. I got this."

Tochi just nodded.

The Heliolisk did not look happy to have his opponent switched - just when his strategy was working out so well, too. The problem was that he and Clemont knew their Rain Dance/Surf combo would utterly wreck any Ground- or Rock-types that dared challenge them, and they wouldn't need to worry about any other types, right? Nope. There was always a random Grass-type coming in to ruin his day.

"Fine, whatever." The Heliolisk shocked the drenched ground. Sepal could only grit his teeth and bear it; as long as the ground was soaked, the Heliolisk could get off a free hit whenever it wanted…

He charged forwards; the Heliolisk dodged out of the way. Why did all enemies have to have Quick Attack? Couldn't they just get tackled by him and be done with it?

Sepal decided to give his new move a test run. He extended his vines and attempted to hit the opponent from afar. At the last second, his vines glowed a dark purple; Heliolisk was knocked to the ground, and Sepal proceeded to beat him up with a regular old Vine Whip.

"What _was_ that?" Tochi said in surprise. What had Sepal gotten up to when they'd been separated?

The Heliolisk rose, looking irritated, and batted the vines away by zapping the ends. He went for the ground again, but Sepal was already running. He slammed into Heliolisk with a force that he didn't think was possible for him, pushing the Electric-type to the ground, but not without giving himself a headache.

"Take Down…" Sepal realized. "Ow."

He didn't waste any time. Pinning the Heliolisk down, he shot Sleep Powder into his face until he began to snore. He then applied some hasty and not-so-stealthy Leech Seed to him, Growled at him a bunch of times just for good measure, and retreated quickly before the opponent woke up. As soon as the Heliolisk did, however, Sepal poofed a cloud of Poison Powder all around him. He coughed hard, and his yellowish skin took on a purple hue.

"Yes!" Tochi cheered.

Sepal felt a tug as the Leech Seed restored some of his energy. The problem was now outlasting the other Pokemon...easier said than done.

The Heliolisk took a minute to literally dance up a storm. He may have been hoping to wash away the various spores and seeds, but the Leech Seed was too well-rooted to be taken off. In the end, the Heliolisk just stood there in the rain. Sepal watched him warily. Heliolisk appeared to be sulking.

"It's an act, Sepal!" Tochi warned. "He's got Dry Skin. He's healing!"

"Cheater!" the Heliolisk scowled. Cover blown, he shocked the ground again. It wasn't so bad because the Leech Seed counteracted the damage almost immediately. The Heliolisk flinched and took a second to withstand the poison.

Sepal tried going on the offensive with Vine Whip. He got in two hits before Heliolisk pushed the vines away again and tried to get closer to Sepal. Sepal fended him off until the Electric-type apparently got an idea. He stopped, and a tidal wave rose up underneath him and carried him across the field.

"Well, that looks unfair."

The Surf washed over Sepal. Type advantage or no, a Surf was a very hard thing to ignore. He was swept under, and as he fought to the surface he could feel Heliolisk shocking the water again. The worst thing was that Sepal realized this wasn't just any Electric-type move; it was _Parabolic Charge._ Between that and Dry Skin, he would just keep healing off Sepal's Poison Powder and Leech Seed, at the same time as Sepal was trying to heal off of _him._

Then Sepal got angry. Heliolisk was stealing his act!

The water died down, and the Bulbasaur kicked his way to the surface. He gave the Heliolisk an annoyed glare before extending his vines yet again. The Heliolisk seemed to be anticipating the same trick as last time, but at the last second Sepal changed direction - he hit Heliolisk's feet as hard as possible and sent him to the ground. Before he could get up, Sepal used Take Down; it was a direct hit.

Take Down hurt, but it was effective. The Heliolisk would have been staggering by now if he wasn't already facedown on the field. Sepal charged him again and again until the rain died down; only then did he back off, feeling considerably weakened.

Heliolisk struggled to his feet. He looked much more worse for wear, which was heightened after both the poison and the Leech Seed activated again. He came to the same conclusion as Sepal had: if he stopped to use Rain Dance and heal off some damage, he wouldn't be able to stand another attack. Because of that, he went all out, shrouding the field in a Thunderbolt so big that it covered himself as well.

All Sepal had was to endure it, though. The spore moves eventually activated again, and Heliolisk fell to the ground for the last time, officially knocked out.

Clemont returned his Pokemon. "Congratulations!" he declared, although he looked a little bit pained at his completely-flooded arena. His own fault, really.

The Gym Leader pulled something shiny out of his pocket. "As leader of the Lumiose City Gym, I officially award you the Voltage Badge...and, er, you wouldn't need the TM for Thunderbolt, right?"

Sepal shook his head and accepted his badge. He turned towards Tochi, who was sitting there next to their bag, dripping water, looking stunned. Stunned as in surprised, not paralyzed, though that applied to him too.

"What is it?" Tochi asked as Sepal merely looked at him.

Then the white glow started to climb up from his feet. Tochi seemed to panic - _Not here! Not in front of him! -_ but Sepal stopped him.

"It's okay. Go ahead."

"Wha -" Tochi's voice was cut off as his whole body began to shine.

The whole process seemed to take forever, but in reality it was only a few seconds - the white blob that was Tochi morphed, towering over Sepal by about a foot. Arms, tufts of fur, and a larger tail sprouted, and then, once the glow died, Tochi the Braixen stood before Sepal.

"How do you feel?" Sepal asked timidly.

"Stick."

"What?"

"I feel like...I need a stick." Tochi said frantically. "Anybody got one?"

"There's one in your tail."

"Ah!" Tochi fumbled around with his new paw/arms, maneuvering them like a crane in a toy-grabbing game. He found a stick stuck in his fur and picked it up, awkward but eager. "That feels better." Only then did he look at the rest of himself.

"So I'm a Braixen now…"

"Mhm."

Tochi looked at Sepal cautiously. His eyesight felt just as sharp. "And...you're okay with that?

"Let's get to a Pokemon Center," Sepal said, wincing as the full effects of the battle came over him. "We have a lot to talk about."

~*Q*~

 **A/N: Congrats, Tochi, for the first evolution! More story to come.**

 **~*Akirys*~**


	12. Campbell Soup

**A/N: I thought this was my longest chapter as I was writing this, but that honor belongs to the previous one. They're both a bit ridiculous, though. Ah well. Please read and review!**

 **~*Q*~**

Sepal had to help Tochi out of the Gym. The new Braixen wasn't used to his sudden bipedal form.

"I think I can walk," Tochi decided as they made their way to the Pokemon Center. Sepal backed off, and he took a few wobbly steps on his own. "Ha! I can!"

"Good, you can carry this." Sepal unceremoniously dumped their bag in his paws.

He staggered, not used to carrying things. "Is this how it feels to transport stuff like a human? How do they do it?"

Sepal shrugged. "They get used to it."

For a while, Tochi practiced swinging the bag around and slipping it on and off his shoulder. "Hey, Sepal...will you tell me now?"

Sepal quietly began to explain. He told Sepal about why he had been afraid and what happened after he had run off.

"You talked to _Sycamore?"_ Tochi gasped.

"Yes," Sepal said. "He was nice."

"Well, okay. Keep going!'

"That's it, really," Sepal said. "I told him what I just told you, and he let me sleep over for the night. And he taught me Knock Off."

"Lucky," Tochi said enviously. "Wish I could learn that move."

"Speaking of moves…"

"Mhm?"

"Tochi, you're my friend," Sepal said hesitantly. "I don't want to be scared of you. But now that you're a Braixen...you gotta promise not to use Psychic-type moves."

"None? At all?"

"I'm really sorry. I - I don't think I can handle them."

Tochi was quiet. Ever since he evolved, he _could_ feel a weird capacity for Psychic-type moves, even though he wasn't dual-typed. He had had that feeling as a Fennekin - an occasional buzz in his ears, or a strong feeling of deja vu, like a Future Sight was going to burst out of his head if he wasn't careful - but it was very apparent that evolving had amplified his aptitude for Psychic moves like crazy. He stared absently at a tree and felt his eyes tingle. He could practically lift that tree into the air if he wanted.

"Tochi?" Sepal prompted.

He shook his head. "No Psychic stuff. I promise. Fire-type moves only."

Sepal let out a sigh. "Thanks."

"No problem. I like fighting up-close, anyways. Wouldn't be any fun to just zap someone from across the room."

Sepal flinched. "No. Not at all."

Tochi decided to occupy himself with his brand new stick as they walked. He discovered that, by pulling it out of his tail, he could create sparks and even light it on fire if he wanted to. The Embers he shot from it were no bigger than the ones he had previously exhaled, but they packed more of a punch because of the way he could fling them through the air.

"There's the Center," Sepal said. "You wanna visit it and get moving?"

"Moving where?"

"The next city! And the Gym Leader."

"Already?" Tochi was startled; usually, Sepal was the one who wanted to take life slow. He studied his friend's face and found that he was smiling, albeit sadly.

"Yep. I've had enough of Lumiose for a while."

~*Q*~

The walk to Camphrier was, for once, uneventful.

Very few wild Pokemon attacked them. The only landscape besides flowers and grass was the big wheelie-shoe park at the beginning. Any trainers that challenged them were easy in comparison to Clemont's Surf-happy Heliolisk.

"You sure are close to evolving," Tochi commented.

"Am I?"

"Your bulb is three or four inches open at the top, Of course you are!"

Sepal shivered. He hadn't given it much though, being too preoccupied with Tochi, but his own evolution was a bit of a terrifying thing.

"You're not scared of Ivysaur, are you?"

Sepal laughed weakly. "Not at all."

Camphrier had a strangely old-timey, worn-down feel to it. Tochi and Sepal explored for a little while but quickly grew tired of peeking into random civilian's backyards.

"There's no Gym here," Tochi said, disappointed.

"There's a palace, though."

"Probably not as impressive as Parfum."

"Parfum Palace!" Suddenly, Sepal's eyes were shining. "Can we go?"

Tochi stared at him, bemused. "Are you a fan?"

Sepal blushed, then shrugged. "I've always wanted to go there. It sounds so...fancy."

"I mean, we could," Tochi mused. "Maybe there'll be some cool stuff…"

"Yeah! Please?"

It suddenly struck Tochi how odd it was that his friend, who he'd always looked up to, was asking him permission to do something. Maybe it had something to do with how tall he suddenly was? "Uh...sure. Let's get going."

~*Q*~

The side-path to Parfum Palace was pleasantly shaded by trees, surrounded by gently rustling tall grass, and absolutely choked with tourists. They were all on their way to the palace as well.

"Great," Tochi groaned. "More Tra -"

"Wild starters!" someone shouted. The air was filled with oohing and snaps of pictures.

"Uh oh," Sepal said.

"Are they native here?"

"That Bulbasaur's turning pink!"

"Do they have Trainers?"

At the last one, Tochi's eye twitched. "No, we do not have Trainers!"

Suddenly, a ball flew towards the two of them. Tochi panicked and shot fire at it, thankful that he had been honing his stick-reflex skills; the ball fell to the ground sizzling with the smell of melted plastic.

"They _are_ wild!" someone decided.

"RUUUN!" Tochi and Sepal broke through the tourist crowd and dashed towards Parfum Palace.

Bad idea; they were easier targets in the clear space of the Parfum lawn, and there were even more tourists milling around taking photos. Most of them were happy to capture the moment of two Pokemon being chased by a frenzied mob of people toting cameras, but others actually joined the chase.

"In here!" Tochi pointed, stumbling over his new legs, and guided Sepal into the thick grass lining the edges of Route 6.

A tourist got in a lucky shot and hit Tochi in the back with a Pokeball. Almost before it closed, Sepal stomped on it as hard as he could. The ball broke and Tochi reappeared dizzily.

"Run ahead!" Sepal slowed very slightly. "My ball's safe in the bag. I'll shield us." Tochi fled faster, not bothering to argue.

Now, when the tourists chucked balls at the Pokemon, they simply bounced off; you couldn't a captured Pokemon, after all. Once the humans figured this out, at least three-quarters of them either left the herd in embarrassment or slowed in confusion. The others, who were pretty eager to get a Bulbasaur, apparently, were left behind as Sepal veered into the tall grass.

He waded around in the vegetation until he saw a column of smoke in the air like a signal fire. Sepal picked his way towards it until he came across Tochi, still catching his breath as he set his new stick ablaze and held it high in the air.

"There you are!" He put the stick away no more burnt than it had been before. "That was a good plan."

"I guess," Sepal said simply.

"You know where we are?" Tochi asked.

"Nope."

"Me neither. But I can hear the tourists that way, soooo...this way is the exit, hopefully." He forged ahead.

The grass had been worn down into a path in some areas. It was odd to walk on the dirt road with grass above his head on either side, as if he was drowning.

"Stop!" Tochi said suddenly.

"What?"

"I hear something."

Sepal listened and heard it too: a strange _skritch skritch skritch._

"A Pokemon?"

"Probably."

"But what kind of -"

"Keep it down, will ya?" a voice snapped. "I'm trying to Sketch!"

They waded into the grass to look and found a Smeargle intently studying a Pokemon Battle on Route 6, which was elevated a few feet above the low grassy plain. The Smeargle had to cling to the edge of the mesa with one paw to ensure it would see the battle (Gothita vs Dwebble). With the other, it wrung its paintbrush-shaped tail into a tight circle. The paw clinging to the mesa made a constant _skritch_ noise as he dug his fingers into the dirt.

"Could you be quiet?" Tochi asked after a few seconds. "That's kind of annoying."

" _Shh!"_

"Sorry! Sheesh."

Tochi and Sepal watched the battle along with him, not out of politeness or curiosity, but wondering in bafflement why the fight was so special.

The Gothita attacked. The Dwebble took the hit and immediately sucker punched it.

"Yes!" the Smeargle cheered. His dark green tail flashed white, and he immediately copied the move, punching a tree over and over until it cracked and leaned over the path at an angle. Several tourists looked over, confused, and Smeargle dropped into the safety of the tall grass.

"So...what was that about?" Tochi asked.

"I am an _artiste,"_ Smeargle declared. "A painter of Pokemon moves! I will not rest until every Pokemon move ever known is in my collection!"

"How long have you been working for this?" Sepal asked.

"Oh, six, seven years?"

Now that he was on the ground, they could tell that the Smeargle was indeed pretty old. His eyes were a little narrower and less youthful than most Smeargle. His ears were flecked with gray. However, his paintbrush tail was as vibrant as any. He was also constantly moving - tapping his fingers, fidgeting with his tail.

"Feint Attack's been eluding me for a while," Smeargle continued blithely. "But I got it. I knew one of those Pokemon just had to have it. I only had to stalk them for a little bit!"

"Do you...stalk Pokemon a lot?"

"Requirement of the job description. As soon as they leave the area from Camphrier to Cyllage, I can't go after them."

"So you've spent years sketching Pokemon moves, but not allowing yourself to travel the region and track them down," Tochi said slowly. "How many moves do you _have?_ "

"Five hundred and six," Smeargle beamed. "Well, five hundred and _seven,_ now!"

He suddenly grew interested in them. "Now, hmmm...Braixen, Braixen, I've seen plenty of you out around here. What are your moves?"

"Um, Howl, Ember, Flame Charge…"

"Boring! Bulbasaur?"

"Tackle, Growl, Vine Whip…" Sepal said eagerly.

"Lame."

"Poison and Sleep Powder…"

"Still lame."

"Knock Off?"

"Interesting! But naw, I have it." Still, the old Smeargle seemed to have taken a liking to them. "Name's Campbell."

"I'm Tochi. This is Sepal."

"And what are you two doing?"

Tochi quickly summed up their escape from Lumiose and their quest for the badges. "So now that we have Clemont's, we want to find the next Gym?"

"I believe that'd be Grant's in the next town over," Campbell said. "This route is notoriously long, though, almost a third of the way across the region.

"...oh, great."

"I'm headed that way to scour for new moves." Campbell got a sudden glint in his eye. "That's it...you two can come with me!"

"That's okay," Sepal said politely.

"Nonsense! I grew up in this place and I haven't left it since. I know this route better than anyone."

"But we don't know you…" Tochi tried.

"Then you'll get to know me!" Campbell said firmly. "No disrespecting your elders. Now, come on. We're leaving right away."

~*Q*~

Campbell the Smeargle was right: the road was long, ridiculously so. Forget the day-long hike through Santalune. Reaching Cyllage took no less than five days.

Campbell was with them constantly. Tochi and Sepal soon discovered that he was lonely old soul - he had never left the Riviere Walk area for reasons they couldn't pry out of him as much as he liked to chat. He had never had a Trainer or a lifelong friend and seemed both awed and jealous at Tochi and Sepal's closeness.

"All my friends either moved away or were captured, or we just fell out of touch," the Smeargle said wistfully. "Guess that's why I like you two."

In addition to that, he was flamboyant - when he wasn't twiddling his thumbs, he was striking gestures in time to whatever he was saying - and incredibly knowledgeable about anything move-related. The drier hours of travel were spent thinking up random moves and seeing if Campbell either knew them or knew all about them.

"Wanna see my pride and joy?" Campbell asked them, in the middle of the second day. "Watch!"

He spread his hands, his tail flashed white, and a dark puddle oozed out from his feet and spread over the ground. It radiated shadows and cold. Tochi and Sepal backed up nervously, but the shadow stretched ten feet in diameter - the only thing keeping it from making contact with their feet was Campbell, who flicked his wrist to give them a small circle of plain ground. The whole thing exuded a strange aura that made their eyelids droop.

The Smeargle dropped his paws, and the puddle melted into the dirt. "Dark Void," he said gleefully. "Picked it up when I had a nightmare one night!"

"I didn't even know that was _possible,"_ Sepal said, impressed.

"Neither did I. Neither did Darkrai. He was mighty peeved."

It wasn't until the third day that the Smeargle made the mistake of offering to be their tutor. "Most people think Braixen are Fire/Psychic types, but you've still got a ways to go. Still, a bit of early practice with Psybeam wouldn't hurt, eh?"

"No!" both Sepal and Tochi blurted. Sepal made a garbled excuse and hurried ten feet ahead of them to calm himself down (and possibly hyperventilate).

"What?" Campbell asked, startled.

"Phobia," Tochi said shortly. "Psychic-types."

"Oh. Ohhhhhh. I see."

Sepal let them catch up to him in about half an hour, and they continued as if nothing had happened.

But that night, as Sepal left them to gather berries for their food supply, Campbell scooted closer to Tochi and the fire he had made. "I could teach you, you know."

"No can do," Tochi said. "We made a promise."

"I see. But not knowing Psychic moves will seriously hinder you as a Delphox."

"If that's what it takes…"

"You said you want to be Malva's Pokemon, right?" Campbell asked, and Tochi nodded stiffly. "She's going to want type coverage."

"I'll cross that bridge when I come to it," Tochi muttered.

"If you're sure. Just, you should know Psybeam by now, after all the battles you've been fighting lately. Keep it handy. You might need it someday."

Tochi was silent. He could feel his new psychic energy reserves in the back of his mind, always ready to be used. He wondered what being a Delphox suppressing half of its identity would feel like.

~*Q*~

"Guys! _Guys!"_

Tochi, Sepal, and Campbell had wandered off from each other on the fourth day. They were absentmindedly challenging various Trainers and Pokemon to battles (or, in Campbell's case, grilling their movesets) when Sepal cried out.

By the time they reached his side, the white light had already enveloped him full force. Sepal gleamed like a star for a few seconds, and an Ivysaur stood in his place when the blaze died down.

"You're taller than me again!" were the first things that Tochi said.

"Oops."

"Well done!" Campbell exclaimed. "I was wondering when you'd do it."

Tochi circled Sepal excitedly. "You look awesome! How do you feel?"

Sepal the Ivysaur hesitated. "...Pinker."

"And?"

"Bigger."

"Come on! More descriptive!"

Campbell watched them, amused. "Wish I could evolve. I'll be stuck as a Smeargle my whole life."

"You can learn _any move, ever,"_ Tochi pointed out. "Seems like a fair tradeoff."

"Yeah…" Campbell admitted, "Still, though. Wouldn't it be nice if Smeargle at least had a Mega Evolution?"

"A mega what?"

"You haven't heard?" Campbell said in surprise.

"It sounds familiar," Tochi noted. "But still: a mega _what?"_

"Mega Evolution. It used to be a huge mystery researched by Professor Sycamore. Only people in Shalour really knew anything about it, thanks to the Gym Leader there. Now, though? Info on Mega Evolution leaked out, and as soon as humans got ahold of enough stones and those fancy jewelry activator thingies, Pokemon left and right were going Mega. Sepal there had a Venusaurite in the bag, so I thought you knew about it."

"I do?" Sepal asked, confused.

Campbell pulled the bag off of Tochi's shoulder (as the one with arms, he had replaced Sepal as the Designated Bag Carrier) and rummaged around. "Aha!" He handed a bluish stone and a note to Sepal.

"I can't read."

"Oh." Campbell took the note back and began to read with a flourish: " _My dearest_ \- okay, it doesn't really say that - _Sepal, I want to wish you good luck on your journey yet again! You may have noticed that I have enclosed a stone within your bag. This is called a Venusaurite, and once you evolve fully, it might allow you to reach a higher level of power - that is, if you obtain other items that go along with it. It may be a difficult endeavor, but I have faith in you! Sincerely, Professor Sycamore."_

"A Mega Stone?" Sepal said aloud. "Wow…"

"I wonder if one for Delphox exists?" Tochi said wistfully.

"You might find answers in Shalour, the home of Mega Evolution," Campbell advised. "Now, aren't we forgetting something? Sepal's evolution! We must celebrate!"

~*Q*~

It was the afternoon of the fifth day they had set out from Camphrier.

"Cyllage dead ahead," Campbell reported. They have been forced to travel through a cave to reach the city, which Tochi especially did not like. Both of them were incredibly glad to hear it.

"Finally!" Tochi scratched his head again; the echolocaton of Zubat hordes was really messing up his hearing. "Felt like it took forever."

"It wasn't so bad," Sepal said mildly.

As they neared the way out, Sepal suddenly struck on something. "Campbell, you're coming with us, right?"

The Smeargle hesitated. He was fidgeting, like always. "No...I don't think so."

"Why not?"

"Well, I've never been to Cyllage before, and I'm not gonna start now."

"But is there a reason?" Tochi put in.

"I guess maybe I have a little bit of agoraphobia," Campbell said eventually. "And it's been too long to correct it."

"I don't think it has been."

Campbell just sighed. "Come back and visit me soon, okay, you two?"

"Absolutely."

"Of course."

They arrived in front of the Cyllage City doorway.

"I should be heading out," Campbell said. "Take care of yourselves. And good luck against Grant! I've heard he's brutally tough."

"We'll be fine," Sepal said bravely. Campbell waved as he departed, and the new Braixen and Ivysaur took their first step into Cyllage.

 **~*Q*~**

 **A/N: Campbell is the type that prefers to be painted rather than be a painter. Hence the name...sort of.**

 **What'd you think of him? What'd you think of this story in general? Feedback is welcome!**

 **~*Akirys*~**


	13. Cliffhanging

**A/N: Not as sure about this one. Good? Bad? I'd love a review! Thank you all so much!**

 **~*Q*~**

"Aw, great! It's raining."

Their expectations for Cyllage were high after all that they'd been through. It turned out that they were _literally_ high above the ground; the cave emerged on a smooth racetrack-like thing on the top of a mountain. Even as they stood there, Tochi had to pull Sepal back for fear of him getting run over by a group of humans on bicycles. _They_ didn't mind the rain, at least.

"First Clemont," Tochi mumbled, trying to cover his head with his paws, "and now here. Can we go to a desert next or something?"

"Do you think Chlorophyll activates in the desert?" Sepal asked hopefully.

"Who knows?"

Picking their way to the ground was difficult. They followed the bicycle path, but they would have to leap out of the way of a cyclist every once in a while. Finally, they reach a curve in the path…that led to a steep incline leading straight down the mountain.

"Um," Sepal said nervously. "Can we make that?"

"No. We'll probably fall and die."

Sepal put one leg on the incline, then another. He started to announce "It's sa -" before he lost his balance and skidded down the slope, screaming.

Tochi grimaced and (very slowly) went down after him. "Told you…"

~*Q*~

"Hey, mister. Where's the Gym?"

"Huh? Oh, you have to climb that mountain to reach it."

"...Oh, _come on!"_

~*Q*~

After climbing down a mountain in the pouring rain, Tochi and Sepal had to climb up a mountain in the pouring rain.

"This town," Tochi said through gritted teeth, "is not leaving the best first impression on me."

"I think that's the Gym," Sepal said, motioning to a building up ahead. If there was one immediate disadvantage to being an Ivysaur, it was that the rainwater collected on his new leaves and caused a constant dripping sensation to drum against his back. It was not leaving him in the best of moods.

Tochi and Sepal rushed into the Gym, grateful to get out of the rain. Once inside, they were faced with…another mountain.

"I am seriously about to cry," Tochi said flatly.

"Oh, hey, little Geodudes!" The Gym guy noticed them. "My brother called me and said our brother told him you were coming. How goes it?"

"Isn't there a ramp up to the top or something?" Tochi asked.

"Don't know Pokemon. Judging by your sad, wet face, you're asking about the cliff? Oh yeah, Grant climbs that like six times a day. We've got a lift for wheelchair-goers, but I'm afraid you two are out of luck!"

"You're seriously making everybody climb this thing?" Tochi demanded. The Gym guide gave them one of those infuriating _sorry-can't-understand-you!_ shrugs.

There was nothing to do but start climbing. They agreed to keep Tochi's bag at the bottom in the care of the Gym guide; being bipedal could only take you so far when scaling a cliff. Sepal used his vines to drag him upwards a bit at a time, while Tochi clung to the tiny, colorful rocks sticking out of the rock face and tried his best not to let go.

"Hey!" Tochi jumped. He had paused on a platform for a break, and a Hiker pounced on the opportunity. "You gotta battle me to pass by!"

Tochi sighed. "Fine."

The Hiker pointed his Pokemon upwards and pressed the button. A curled-up Onix materialized on the cliff above them, who lowered his head to meet Tochi's and growled menacingly. Tochi blanched. "Uh...Sepal?"

Three yards over, Sepal yelled, "Hit the deck!"

He was hanging by his vines from a cliff, so instead of going over to help, he opened the flower on his back and unleashed a flurry of sharp leaves. Tochi hugged the ground as the Onix's trainer covered his head with his hand. The Onix himself wasn't so lucky; he was sliced by the Razor Leaf attack for several seconds before slumping to the ground in defeat. The Hiker sent out two other Pokemon - Nosepass and Rhyhorn - both of whom met the same fate. Tochi didn't have to lift a finger.

"Nice one!" he called. "When'd you learn it?"

"Couple days ago," Sepal answered, hauling himself further up the fake mountain. "I learned some others too that I wanna show you later."

All in all? It took them fifteen more minutes to reach the top.

Tochi and Sepal collapsed on the highest platform. Tochi in particular was exhausted. " _Worst_ puzzle ever."

"My vines hurt."

"Hi!" someone announced. A human popped his head up from the other side of the mountain, as if he'd been climbing it. It must have been the Gym Leader, Grant. "I've just been waiting for you two to reach the top. Viola told me how you beat her scary Vivillon. I'm impressed!"

"That Vivillon _was_ scary," Sepal said thoughtfully.

"I'm ready any time you are. Go, Amaura!" An Amaura gracefully burst from her Pokeball.

Tochi and Sepal looked at each other nervously. An Amaura? Ice for Sepal and Rock for Tochi - it countered them a bit too well for their liking.

"I'll start," Sepal ventured. "My moves are more effective."

Tochi nodded. "Go for it."

Sepal regarded the Amaura warily. He started with something safe - a cloud of Sleep Powder hovering around him.

Grant rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Amaura - Thunder Wave!"

"Huh?"

The gem on Amaura's flank crackled, and she unleashed a jolt of energy from afar. Using the Sleep Powder cloud as cover, Sepal dove out of the way, but he knew he couldn't let the attack hit. Being so hampered by a dangerous enemy could cost them a match.

"Keep going for it!" Grant coached.

"Sure thing, boss!" Amaura chirped, and fired again. This time it wasn't a Thunder Wave. It was a blast of icy-cold energy that made Sepal almost freeze on the spot.

So this Amaura specialized in ranged attacks? That was bad. Sepal's strategies were focused around Vine Whip and a few status conditions for the defensive side. If he couldn't get close, he could land a hit. Thankfully, he had a new move to help him.

Sepal's back exploded into Razor Leaf. Not only did the cloud of leaves shield him for a second or two, but they hit the Amaura _hard_ when they targeted her. She cried out at the first few, but froze the rest with Aurora Beam. Sepal kept the leaves coming as he circled, trying to find a way to get close enough to use Leech Seed on her.

When he was five feet away, Amaura turned on him, only to get a face full of Sleep Powder. She coughed and spluttered as he spit a seed onto her flank, only for it to fail to take hold and fall to the ground. Both of his moves had failed.

He didn't back away quickly enough. The second Amaura had her eyes clear of dust, she Aurora Beam-ed him and sent him skidding away from her, shivering. His first Ice-type attack had only been heightened by the time he had spent outside in the rain. He shook some ice off of his leaves and took a defensive stance.

Amaura tried to Thunder Wave him again, but Sepal dodged it with Sleep Powder and generated more Razor Leaves, which she froze out of the air. This fight wasn't going anywhere. The single Ice-type attack he had take was affecting him greatly. Sepal switched tactics again; this time, he poured out an unending wave of Razor Leaves in all directions. Sure enough, Amaura froze some, but she couldn't aim for all of them at once. Her attention wavered enough for Sepal to get in close and try the Sleep Powder method again. This time, his efforts paid off; Amaura slumped to the ground, and Sepal attacked her with close-range Razor Leaves as much as he could. He hadn't had a chance to use this move much on Route 7, or even tell Tochi about it, but it was ridiculously handy in battle.

By the time Amaura opened her eyes, she could feel it was a losing battle. Still, even as she was peppered with sharp projectiles, she struggled to her feet and charged at Sepal in a Take Down. Sepal staggered backwards, while the impact knocked her out.

"One down. Sorry, 'Mory," Grant said, recalling her. "You ready to face my next Pokemon, Bulbasaur?"

Sepal tried to think of some bravado to say when a crackle ran along his body, and his muscles involuntarily twitched. Paralysis! Amaura must have hidden a Thunder Wave in her last attack.

Grant's smile grew. "The Paralysis trick? I love it when she pulls that off." He threw a Dusk Ball. "Tyrunt, go!"

Tyrunt was smaller than Amaura but much more fierce. He had barely hit the ground from his Pokeball when he charged towards Sepal at full speed. He tried to block Tyrunt, but the little Dragon-type bit his vine and used it to throw Sepal, all almost-thirty pounds of him, clear off the ground. The Ivysaur landed painfully ten feet away, and Tyrunt didn't waste a second. He charged again.

Sepal threw up a cloud of Poison Powder, but Tyrunt ran through it without bothering to inhale. This time, he jumped into the air, dispelling the poison cloud slightly, and came down with a _whoosh_ onto Sepal's back. Tyrunt proceeded to jump up and down, effectively Stomping on Sepal over and over.

"Ow!" Sepal cringed. Afraid to try Vine Whip again, he used Razor Leaf. The cloud sliced into Tyrunt from underneath and sent him tumbling to the ground as Sepal Growled at him threateningly. He had to stop as the paralysis kicked in and locked him in place. Hadn't Tochi been paralyzed last time? Wasn't once enough?

"Rock Tomb!"

Tyrunt seemed too vicious to take a command from his Trainer, but to Sepal's surprise, the Fossil Pokemon obeyed. He stomped his feet and sent huge boulders, materializing from nowhere, crashing onto Sepal. Plumes of dust coated him, and the rocks surrounded him like a prison. Before he could scramble out, Tyrunt came crashing through the hole at the very top of his tomb and body-slammed Sepal again, sending the Rock Tomb rolling in random directions.

Hurt and pained as he was, Sepal was catching on to the Tyrunt's battle style. It was the opposite of the Amaura; with her, avoiding her long-ranged attacks was key because of her inability to defend herself if you got up close. On the other hand, Tyrunt has nothing to do as long as you kept your distance. If he caught you, though, it was over.

"Tochi!" Sepal yelled, coughing on Rock Tomb dirt, as Tyrunt Bit him on his side. "You figure out the Tyrunt?"

Thankfully, Tochi knew what he was referring to - he too had caught on. "Yeah, b -"

"Rock Tomb, Tyrunt!"

And that was the end of Sepal. The next barrage of rocks scored a direct hit, and the Ivysaur was knocked out for the first time.

"Sepal!" Tochi jumped up and ran to him. The Tyrunt stopped attacking at his Trainer's request, but he looked impatient to get on with it.

"Are you okay?"

Sepal took a while to answer. Finally, his eyes cracked open, and he blearily muttered "Fine…"

Tochi carried him off the field and took his place. The Tyrunt was scratching at the ground like a Tauros, eager to continue his rampage, and Tochi suddenly realized the extent of what he was tasked with. One of the two had been well-and-truly knocked out for the first time. It was up to Tochi alone now.

"Tyrunt," Grant said. "Rock Tomb!"

That first attack alone nearly ended the battle. Tochi dodged the first falling rock and leaped on top of it. As he'd predicted, none of the rocks fell right on top of each other.

The key to this battle was to be _fast,_ Tochi decided. He lit up like a match in the glow of Flame Charge. He had practiced the move several times already as a Braixen to get used to the feel of sprinting on two feet.

Not a moment too soon, because Tyrunt was coming for him. Tochi tumbled out of the way, and Tyrunt attacked the space where he'd been so hard, a bite mark was taken out of the rock. The foe didn't even seem concerned at the thought of potentially biting into pure fire.

Tochi used his first open opportunity to unleash an Ember. The flames washed over Tyrunt. When they died down, he was barely fazed.

Fire versis a Rock/Dragon-type...this was not a good combination.

Avoiding was all Tochi could do, so he kept it up for a long time. Flame Charge sped him up as usual; even when he caught the edge of a Rock Tomb and began to stumble, Flame Charge restored his speed in no time. He unleashed barrages of Embers, bowled Tyrunt over with flaming midair tackles, and even bopped him on the head with his stick in the hopes that it would act as a pseudo-Wood Hammer. (It didn't.) Tyrunt slowed down noticeably after a while and began to pant, but his bite was still as painful as ever.

It occurred to him that if he were an actual Psychic-type, Tochi would be feel Tyrunt's sharp-toothed bites at full super effective power. That was not a pretty thought.

 _Psychic._ Tochi started to pursue an idea, but before he could go after it further, Tyrunt got in a lucky shot.

Tochi cried out as the Tyrunt tackled him from the side and sent him sprawling. He stood on top of the Braixen, teeth bared and inches away from his face. But he didn't bite Tochi. No, Tochi could see a massive Rock Tomb formed over head. He struggled, but the Tyrunt had him pinned; any Fire-attacks he could managed washed over the Tyrunt as harmlessly as ever.

There was only one option to go. Tochi could only hope that Sepal was still unconscious.

Tochi still had his stick with him. He twisted in Tyrunt's grip so the stick was pointing straight at his face and concentrated. The Psychic energy came easily, flowing through his mind and concentrating into his weapon, and Tochi let go of his inhibitions - a Psybeam exploded from him with a _bang_ and sent Tyrunt flying backwards. Grant yelped for Tyrunt to get back on his feet. Sepal let out a scream.

Tochi didn't stop. He rolled out of the way of the incoming Rock Tomb and used Psybeam again. It was painfully, ridiculously easy; the Tyrunt was hit before he could get within ten feet, and started staggering around in confusion. Tochi closed the distance on his own and aimed a steady stream of Psychic energy at him. The Tyrunt was down in seconds.

"And that's it!" Grant recalled Tyrunt. "Congra -" He stopped short. "Is your friend okay?"

Tochi turned. For a split second he was facing Sepal in full Psychic mode, eyes glowing, stick aimed like a human's gun and humming with power. Then the energy died way. It was just Tochi, with a look of absolute horror on his face. Sepal looked much the same.

"Um…" Grant said hesitantly. "Would you like your Badge?"

Tochi mumbled something and tore his eyes away from Sepal's to retrieve. He was still a foot and a half shorter than the Gym Leader, but Grant was able to place the Badge and money in his hand as if the Braixen was just another Trainer.

Grant made another attempt at congratulations, but Tochi wasn't interested. He slowly turned around as if he was made of wood. As he'd expected, Sepal was gone.

~*Q*~

But he hadn't left.

Sepal was at the very base of the indoor cliff. He was curled up next to the bag, shaking, as the Gym guy unsuccessfully tried to coax the problem out of him.

Tochi mechanically slid down the cliff. One side of it was smooth, too steep to ascend but just right for those leaving after a Gym Battle.

He approached. "Sepal?"

Sepal _flinched._

"I...I'm so sorry."

"You promised."

Now it was Tochi who cringed. "I know, but...I was going to...to lose the battle. I know that sounds stupid, Sepal, but -"

Sepal just looked at him, and Tochi faltered. They were both remembering the time Tochi had attacked the Trainer in Santalune Forest.

"I'm not mad," Sepal said forlornly. "I'm...I'm scared. I _wanted_ to trust you, Tochi, but you just showed me proof…"

"Proof of what?" Tochi burst out. "That I know Psybeam?"

"Yes."

" _So?"_

"Psychics."

Tochi bit his lip and sat down next to Sepal, who flinched again but didn't scoot away. "Sepal...are you going to let that get in the way of everything else?" He waved his arms around at random - at their collection of badges, the mountain they had bested together, even the Gym guide, who looked thoroughly confused.

"I don't want to," Sepal said; firm, but barely audible.

"Then don't. Whether you trust me or not is all up to you, but I'm sticking by your side."

Sepal took a deep breath. "Actually...can we split up?"

" _What?!"_

"Just until the next town over, Geosenge. I need some time alone. Please."

The idea of walking an entire route on his own was almost painful, but Tochi was in no position to argue. "If that clears your mind, okay."

Sepal actually smiled a bit. "Thank you."

Tochi sighed and dejectedly looked down at the badge in his hand.

"Wanna find the Pokemon center?"

~*Q*~

After a night spent in the Center, they started on the road to Geosenge separately.

It was lonely for Tochi, who was used to rambling on and on, even if Sepal wasn't paying attention. That, combined with the ominous rock formations jutting out of the ground, Route 11 was quiet. Too quiet, if he wanted to be cliche.

Over everything, Tochi tried to figure out why Sepal would request this, Wouldn't talking it over with Tochi be more therapeutic than stewing with his thoughts?

Knowing Sepal, he preferred to be alone whenever he was pondering something particularly major. He hadn't run away from the Gym after the battle, which was incredible courage for him, so maybe - just maybe - something bigger was going on. Something so terrifying that it took Tochi, Psychic moves or no, to keep Sepal from going into a full-blown panic attack and abandoning the quest altogether.

 _Think,_ Tochi told himself. _What hypothetically could do this?_

Olympia? That was an option. Sepal had mentioned his own father fought her once before, so there was a serious kind of generational thing going on there. Still, Anistar City was all the way across Kalos. There was no reason for Sepal to have to react so strongly to it right now. What there a closer source of Psychic-types for him to be worrying about? What could possibly -

Then it hit him.

 _Reflection Cave._

~*Q*~


	14. The Cave of Two Avatar References

**A/N: Hi again! Thanks for reading and reviewing!**

~*Q*~

Sepal was feeling a lot better after having some time to himself.

That was the problem with being an introvert - if too much stuff happened at once, it was just bam, nope, leave him alone for a while to sort things out by himself.

Sepal had taken Professor Sycamore's advice to heart and managed not to leave Cyllage Gym. That didn't stop him from feeling betrayed, however, so he split up from Tochi, and they separately began the trek to Geosenge. Along the way, Sepal's feelings cooled down. After two hours of alone time (at least half of that was spent lying down in a patch of grass and forgetting what he was supposed to be doing) he was back to his old self. He even missed Tochi; the Braixen was the one who dragged him along and kept him from getting sidetracked by every little patch of sunshine.

After a long walk, Sepal arrived at the gates to Geosenge - a sleepy little place that couldn't actually qualify as a town due to the utter lack of buildings. Neither Sepal nor Tochi had ever learned the details, but something had once happened that led to a huge debris-filled pit in the center of the town. The rubble of wooden houses had been picked up long ago, and new buildings were too early in construction for any citizens to live there. Still, the Pokemon Center was miraculously up and running.

Sepal found Tochi pacing around outside of the Center. He looked just like a very short, very impatient human - except for the fur and the giant tail, anyways.

"There you are!" Tochi said in relief. "Where were you?"

"Walking."

"For two hours?"

Sepal shrugged. "I got distracted."

Tochi had a nervous expression that didn't quite fade. Something was on his mind. There was something on Sepal's mind too, but he fiercely ignored it.

"Wanna head out again?" Sepal offered. "Together?"

"Together," Tochi repeated. "Yeah."

~*Q*~

They set out from Geosenge. The walk towards what Tochi knew would be Reflection Cave didn't take long.

He had had plenty of time to think it over as he paced back and forth, wearing a hole in the ground as he waited for Sepal. Reflection Cave was well-known for gorgeous mirror-like stone...which in turn attracted Psychic- and Fairy-types. A lot of them. Even from here, he could feel the psychic energy making his ears buzz. There was no way Sepal didn't know what was coming - both of them knew their Kalos geography. No, he was avoiding the issue.

"So!" Tochi ventured. "You know where we're going?"

"Yes."

"Where?"

"Shalour."

"You know where we have to go to get to Shalour?"

"Yes."

"..,Where?"

"This route."

"What's on this route?"

"Reflection Cave."

"What do you know about Reflection Cave?"

"It's shiny."

"Well, did you know that there's a buttload of Psychic-types that live in there and I'm trying to get you to talk about it so you don't freak the Muk out and have a heart attack?!"

Sepal hesitated. His facade cracked slightly. "Well...I was thinking that I could stay here, and you could battle the Gym Leader on your own, and we could just meet up in Lumiose and go from there."

Tochi wanted to explode. "Is that why you split up? So you could just get me used to traveling alone?"

"No," Sepal said timidly. "I really did need to think about what I'd do when we got here."

Tochi sighed. "Sepal: two things. One, a lot of this could be avoided if you just trusted that I can help you. Two, we are going through this cave together, and I don't care what you say."

"I don't want to," Sepal said flatly.

Tochi nearly reminded him that he had Sepal's Friend Ball, and so could basically bring him wherever he wanted. But that was sounded like such a cruel move that Tochi tried a different approach. "Sepal, I promise I'll keep every single Psychic in the history of the universe away from you if you just go in there."

"You really can't."

"Then I'll fight them for you instead. So what if we pass by a horde of Mime Jr.? They couldn't hurt you if they tried."

Sepal hesitated, looking terrified.

"Come on, Sepal."

"I…"

"Please?"

"Okay."

By now, they had reached the entrance to the cave. Tochi hopped over the threshold and back again a couple of times, just to show Sepal that it wouldn't hurt him. Sepal seemed rooted to the spot (if Ivysaur could learn Ingrain, that was a distinct possibility). Tochi finally went over to give him a gentle nudge. Sepal slowly but surely scooted inside.

The good thing? Reflection Cave was so breathtaking that it took the edge of his fear. It was like the whole cave was made out of crystals and mirrors. It really was too bad that he couldn't enjoy the view more.

He screamed at the first movement out of the corner of his eye, and Tochi had to practically pick him up to keep him from running all the way back to Geosenge. "Relax! It's a Carbink."

"Oh...oh."

"Something I did?" Carbink asked.

"No, my friend's a little scared. Just keep walking, Sepal…"

Sepal kept his eyes covered, so Tochi had to guide him along and keep him from tripping over various crystals and rocks. Still, Sepal noticed whenever something moved in his peripheral vision. He was constantly jumpy, even though all they had seen so far were Rock-types. There were trainers too, but thanks to Tochi's very human-made bag and the fact that both of them had already evolved, they seemed to understand that the two were not wild Pokemon to be trifled with. These Trainers had more sense than tourists.

As they traversed deeper in the cave, Sepal flinched again. "That was a Carbink, right?"

Tochi glanced at the Solosis floating by and motioned for her to be quiet. "Yes. Absolutely."

"Boo!" Solosis said gleefully. Sepal screamed, and Tochi shot the Pokemon a nasty look and surreptitiously fired an Ember at it.

Sepal was breaking down. "I can't. I can't do this, Tochi. I'm in the middle of their home territory, there's a Chingling over there and another Chingling over there and a Mr. Mime that's just staring at us…"

"Shh. I know. Just ignore him."

"Why won't he stop staring, Tochi?!"

"I don't know! Just walk away politely!"

Sepal was still on the verge of tears, but Tochi was surprised that he made it this far at all. Maybe they actually could make it out of here.

He jinxed it, of course. As soon as he thought those words, Tochi tripped over something and landed flat on his face.

"Are you okay?" Sepal asked frantically.

"Yeah! Yeah, I'm fine." Tochi got up, but the second he tried to walk forwards, he slipped and fell again. The ground was a mix of rock and dirt - nothing to slide on. Something was keeping him from moving forwards. Tochi looked behind him and found that his shadow, lit up by the sunlight and Pokemon moves bouncing off the cave walls, was distorted, extending far back as if it had gotten caught on something.

"What is it?" Sepal wondered.

Tochi's eyes widened. "Shadow Tag."

A big blue Pokemon stepped into view. Tochi's shadow was extending out from under the Pokemon; Tochi tried once again to escape, but he was pinned. The blue Pokemon regarded them grimly, eyes furrowed shut, mouth pressed in a firm line.

Then it broke into a grin. "Waaaaaaa!"

"Wobbuffet," Tochi said. "Wonderful. Sepal, I'm trapped here; just run, okay?"

"Are you sure?" Sepal squeaked.

"I'll be fine. Go before this Pokemon targets you. I'll catch up soon!"

With a gulp, Sepal turned and went deeper into the cave, alone.

Tochi squared off against the Wobbuffet, who was anxious to fight, judging by his expression. However, the Psychic made no move to begin.

Tochi pulled his stick out of his tail, brandished it threateningly, and used Ember. The attack connected, but Wobbuffet simply took the hit, inflated his body, and sent a bolt of energy at Tochi, who couldn't dodge in time. Tochi grimaced, silently berating all Mirror Coat users to ever exist.

"Okay…try this!" Tochi burst into flames and charged at Wobbuffet. He bent over from the force of the attack, but he only ricocheted back up and launched a Counter at Tochi. This one Tochi dodged with the help of Flame Charge, though just barely. Mirror Coat and Counter? Absolutely evil.

So Tochi sat down and decided to see if he could bore the Wobbuffet into leaving him alone. Five minutes passed and the Psychic-type didn't seem inclined to go anywhere. Getting impatient, Tochi forgot himself and shot and Ember at Wobbuffet, who cheerfully Mirror Coat-ed it. "Ow! Dang it!"

Tochi switched tactics. Without missing a beat, he started using Flame Charge and Ember in rapid succession as the Wobbuffet tried valiantly to switch back and forth between his moves. Tochi got hit several times when he tried to dodge, but he took the blows and kept moving. Ember Charge Ember Charge Ember Charge Ember Charge Ember Charge Ember Ember!

The Wobbuffet, not predicting the hit, was finally hit for real. He yelped in pain...and then straightened up, ready for another hit. Tochi groaned out loud. At this rate, he would collapse from exhaustion before he inflicted any real damage.

"Fine," he growled at it. "You win! I give up!"

"Oh, that makes my job much easier!" a voice said.

A Dusk Ball hurtled out of nowhere, and then all Tochi saw was darkness.

~*Q*~

Splitting up had been a terrible, terrible idea. Sepal was willing to risk fighting Wobbuffet if it meant not being alone out here. He had made it about a football field's length away from Tochi, started to panic, and began working his way back to him, all while trying not to get lost.

"Tochi?" Sepal called hesitantly. "I'm coming back...I changed my mind…"

Every so often, a Pokemon or Trainer would appear and scare him out of him wits. If they showed showed even a hint of wanting to battle, he ran away as fast as he could. Don't think about it don't think about it, he ordered himself, though he could swear he felt a dozen psychic presences watch him.

Another Trainer appeared out of the shadows. Sepal squeaked in surprise and tried to sidestep her, but she blocked his path.

"Sepal!" she grinned, making him jump. "I've been looking for you."

He cleared his throat. "Uh...do I...know you?" He didn't recognize her; she had cropped brown hair with a big pink bow in it, a graceful pink dress with a Skitty tail pattern, and sparkling green eyes.

"Just a moment." The woman nodded behind her, and a Wobbuffet shuffled up. Sepal shrank back. Was it the same one as before?

"My Wobbuffet can translate for you. What was that?"

Instead, Sepal addressed the Wobbuffet. "W-What happened to Tochi?"

He broke into a huge smile. "Beat 'eeeem!" Wobbuffet sang. "I wiiiiiiiiiiiiiin!"

"Then...where is he?"

"I can answer that," the lady said. Sepal realized that the Wobbuffet was doing something psychic to allow the woman to understand him. Overcome with fear, he turned to run. But the woman and her Pokemon blocked him again.

"Tochi is right here." She held up a black-and-green Dusk Ball. It was only then that Sepal realized that she had their bag slung over her shoulder next to a flowery pink purse.

Sepal's eyes went big, and he immediately tried to swat the ball out of her hands with Knock Off. "Give him back! Tochi's a free Pokemon!"

"No, he's a fugitive," said the woman. "That's not the same thing. Let me explain myself," she added. "My name is Miss Shana. I'm the founder of Vaniville Starter Center, and we've been trying to get you two back home for quite a while now. I see you evolved! How lovely."

"I don't want to go home," Sepal said as calmly as he could. "I want my friend back. I want to go to Shalour City."

"I can escort you to Shalour if you'd like," Miss Shana said kindly. "Then we can Teleport back home together. Would you like that?"

"No!" Sepal burst out. "Leave us alone!"

Shana looked hurt. "If you don't go with me willingly, I'll have to battle you with my Wobbuffet, and I know you don't like Psychics. You don't want to get hurt, do you?"

"I -" Sepal looked at the Wobbuffet, who gave him a wicked grin. "I'm willing to take the risk."

Miss Shana heaved a sigh. "You poor thing. Stand by, Wobbles."

"Waaaaa!"

Sepal's mind was racing. How long had she been following them?

He couldn't run and he couldn't fight without activating Counter, but he came up with a strategy. He unleashed his vines and feigned a Vine Whip, but just before he hit Wobbuffet, he struck the ground on either side of him. Wobbuffet was caught off guard. He repeated this twice more, with another Vine Whip and a Razor Leaf.

"What are you doing?" Miss Shana worried. "Oh dear!"

Sepal charged at Wobbuffet with Take Down, not bothering to connect like with the other attacks. But this time, when Miss Shana's and Wobbuffet's guards were down, he nailed the Pokemon with a Leech Seed. At the same time, he let a wisp of Poison Powder drift up almost undetectably until Wobbuffet absently took a deep breath in. There, Now all he had to do was wait.

"Dear," Miss Shana said, wringing her hands, after Sepal had sat there for ten minutes in absolute silence. "You don't have to just sit there. I'm sure I have a Timer Ball somewhere to catch you anyways."

She didn't know he already had a Pokeball - Shana must not have looked inside their bag. Good.

Tochi sat there for five more minutes. Suddenly, the Wobbuffet fell face-first onto the cave floor with a groan as the Leech Seed/Poison Powder did its job.

"Wobbles!" Miss Shana knelt in horror next to her beloved blob. "Say something!"

With a snap, Sepal snatched his bag off of her bag, breaking the straps. He knocked Tochi's Pokeball out of her hands and ran.

"Sepal!" Miss Shana called, but it was futile. She recalled Wobbuffet and sighed to herself.

"Oh well," she mumbled. "Soon, I'll bring them home where they belong."

~*Q*~

Tochi emerged from his Pokeball with a gasp.

He had been able to see blurry images - the blue of Reflection Cave, and maybe a splash of green - but he was so unfocused that trying to decipher them wasn't worth it. His surroundings were as light as air, so jostling didn't bother him; the passage of time was almost impossible to get a grip on. When the Dusk Ball opened, he was sure he could find himself chained back up in the VSC. He had recognized the lady (but didn't remember her name) from when she would work the front desk at the VSC. She always had been too chipper and smiley for his taste.

Tochi whipped his head around, ready to burn his surroundings to the ground the second he was released, but he only saw the crystalline walls of Reflection Cave and the face of his best friend.

"Sepal!" Tochi tackled him. "Thank you!"

"I'm glad you're not captured," was all he said.

"How'd you do it?"

"Beat Wobbuffet?" Sepal said. "Leech Seed."

"Genius," Tochi said fervently.

Sepal nudged him to keep walking. He was still nervous - Tochi could tell by the way his eyes were darting around - but much less so. In fact, he was acting downright fearless. Sepal led the way down a part of the cave that Tochi didn't recognize, but he could tell it was a ways away from the last section he'd been in.

"Sorry I didn't release you sooner," Sepal said. "I was running a lot. I had to make sure Miss Shana didn't catch up."

"Miss Shana, the pink lady?"

"That's her. Founder of the VSC."

"And part-time front-desk worker," Tochi grimaced. "I can't believe she took an interest in hunting us down personally."

"Well, we did burn a hole through the fence."

"True."

Soon, they could see natural sunlight up ahead - already, the end of the cave. When Sepal said he had been running for a while, he had not been kidding. As they approached, Sepal let out a long breath, with metric tons of fear melting away from him.

"You did it," Tochi told him, almost awed. "Do you feel braver?"

Sepal rolled his shoulders as he thought. "Not...really," he admitted.

"That's okay," Tochi said firmly. "You are brave. You just haven't realized it."

Sepal didn't say anything for a beat. "You know...there's a Fighting-gym coming up, right?"

"Uh huh."

"So...if you wanted to wreck everything with Psychic-type attacks, I'm totally okay with that."

Tochi broke into a grin. "I was hoping you'd say that!"

Sepal started to laugh with relief. "Let's go!"

Together, they burst into Shalour City.

~*Q*~

 **A/N: Happy chapter ending? Now that's a rarity!**

 **Disclaimer: Miss Shana is not Professor Umbridge. Think of her more of a well-intentioned extremist.**

 **~*Akirys*~**


	15. Preheat to 360

**A/N: I was worried I wouldn't finish this one today, but I'm glad I did! Today's chapter is a unique mix of boss battle and lighthearted breather after all the drama poor Sepal's been going through. That's how I would favorably describe it, anyways.**

~*Q*~

 _Just one step...just one step to break the life he had lived for almost seven years._

 _The Pokemon took his first step outside of the Connecting Caves...and immediately slipped and fell down the rain-slicked mountain. But that was okay. He could see Tochi and Sepal's footprints in the mud. Now all he had to do was find them._

~*Q*~

Tochi and Sepal spent the night recovering in the Pokemon Center. Miss Shana never came after them, but the thought of them being stalked kept them up late. They discussed ways of how she knew so much about them with being close enough for Tochi to hear her, but the best they could come up with was something to do with Psychic-types - which Sepal didn't want to hear about.

The next morning, they set off for Shalour Gym straight away, not bothering with training beforehand. They were getting tougher and they knew it.

The thing was, as Tochi and Sepal approached the Gym, something about the town was...different. Usually, humans that weren't Trainers ignored them. Now, a few humans here and there were pointing and whispering as they marched to the Gym Leader. Tochi even thought he heard his name once. Something was giving them an increased amount of attention, and he wasn't sure he liked it.

He wasn't sure what he expected the inside of the Gym to be like, but it sure wasn't...an indoor park? The place was gigantic. The floor was hard and smooth, and even from the doorway, Tochi could hear a rattling, whooshing sound echoing across the building.

The Gym guide, of course, noticed them immediately. "Yo! My brother called me and said our brother told our brother to tell him you were coming. How's it hanging?"

"We're good," Tochi said. "We just got attacked by a Wobbuffet and stalked by a lady wearing too much pink, but we're fine otherwise."

"Sweet! So I bet you've noticed this Gym's gimmick, huh? Normally, you gotta catch up to these dudes on roller skates and beat them to open the way to Korrina, but the boss knew you skate-less types were coming and went easy on you. You two only have to catch one Trainer - her!" The Gym guide looked quite proud; clearly, he'd had a hand in thinking up this scheme. "Whaddya say?"

Tochi smiled. "You're on!" He activated his favorite move and shot off towards the arena in a stream of fire.

The Gym guide stared after him, then covered his face. "Why did I even try?" Sepal shrugged and left him behind to catch up.

Korrina was racing around the Gym on her wheelie shoes - or roller skates, as the Gym guide had called them. Tochi fell behind at first, but as the Flame Charge kicked in, he started to gain ground. The Gym Leader looked behind her and sped up with a grin.

"Go, Tochi!" Sepal called, waddling along at a grand speed of four miles an hour, and wishing his legs weren't quite so short.

Tochi reached his maximum speed and accidentally overshot Korrina. He slowed to a stop and turned just in time to see a Lucario jump out of nowhere and punch him clean in the face. Tochi staggered backwards, and Korrina used the opportunity to leave him in the dust. The Lucario smirked.

""So that's how you wanna play it?" Tochi demanded. "Fine!"

He decided to test out one of his newest moves. Still running, he aimed his stick at Lucario and twirled it expertly; a stream of rotating fire whirled out of the end. If the move was performed successfully, it was supposed to ensnare the target, but Tochi wasn't used to producing that much fire. Instead, his Fire Spin petered out before it even got five feet.

"Aw, man," Tochi muttered. He fired a barrage of high-velocity Embers instead. He had been looking forward to getting a stronger Fire-type move.

The Lucario dodged a few of the Embers, but the rest peppered him and left little ash marks in his fur. He retaliated with another punch, which hurt even more than before, but Tochi knocked him back with a Psybeam and raced ahead to catch up with Korrina. He didn't want to waste time getting too injured before the battle...unless this _was_ the Gym battle, which would certainly be a new experience.

"Hey!" Tochi yelled to Korrina as he pulled level with her. "You owe me a battle!"

In response, she cried, "You better be ready for Lady Korrina!" and skidded to a halt. Tochi tried to stop too suddenly and tripped, leaving a huge scorch mark on the floor.

"Ah, another mark won't hurt it," Korrina said, as Tochi scrambled to his feet. "You and your friend there -" she pointed to Sepal, who was still on his way - "follow me to the center of the field. I've heard a lot about you two!"

~*Q*~

"First up!" Korrina released a Mienfoo, who settled into a stance and regarded them coolly.

Tochi stepped forwards. "Don't worry, Sepal, I got thi -"

The Mienfoo blurred forwards before he could finish speaking, clapped her hands on either side of his head, and while he was still reeling, punched him in the stomach and retreated.

"Nice one, Tochi."

"Thanks."

"Sugar!" Korrina called. "Power-Up Punch again!"

"Not this this time!" Tochi burst into flames and tried to dodge. The Mienfoo, Sugar, still outsped him, but the Flame Charge had the additional effect of burning her when she tried to connect. Sugar cried out and backed away to nurse her seared hands.

And it was just that simple - Tochi had the battle won in minutes. Sugar was unable to damage him without touching him, so despite her valiant efforts to hit him while withstanding the flames, it only took a few Psybeams from Tochi to knock her unconscious. If Sepal was uncomfortable, he didn't show a thing.

"Nice one! Sugar, return!" Korrina was beaming. "But can you handle a bit of Salt?"

Salt turned out to be a muscular Machoke who Leered confidently down at Tochi.

"You can't beat me if you can't hit me!" Tochi challenged. Machoke looked at him, unimpressed, and used Rock Tomb. Tochi, clearly having bad flashbacks to the _last_ opponent with Rock Tomb he had faced, dove out of the way and shoved Sepal into the battle in his stead.

"...I guess I'm fighting now," Sepal said. "Why are you named Salt?"

Salt the Machoke opened his mouth and then paused for a long time. "I, uh...I get sweaty? Um…"

As the opponent spoke, Sepal subtly began to use Growth.

"Korrina, why have you never explained this to me?" Salt protested.

Korrina rolled her eyes. "Because you never - look out!"

Sepal, who now stood eye-to-eye with the Machoke, unleashed a storm of Razor Leaves the size of dinner plates. Salt covered his face with his arms, but it didn't do much good. As soon as the leaves thinned out, he leaped towards Sepal and nailed him with multiple Power-Up Punches. As first they didn't hurt, but they gradually got more powerful.

Sepal was an easy target because of the Growth, but he managed to strike Salt with a Vine Whip. He staggered, but caught the vine in his hands and, with incredible strength, yanked on it to send Sepal crashing into the other end of the Gym. Sepal used another Razor Leaf as soon as he got to his feet. This time, the Machoke was able to duck and roll underneath the barrage, only getting clipped by a few of them. He came up just a few feet from Sepal, who blasted Poison Powder spores into the air for a hasty escape. Salt punched a hole into the concrete where the Ivysaur's head had just been.

His target had disappeared when the spore cloud went up, but Salt wasn't concerned. With his ability, Guts, the poison would help more than it harmed. He turned and spotted Sepal running away towards the other side of the Gym. "Ha!"

Sepal turned just as the Machoke readied a Power-Up Punch and sprinted towards him. Instead of blocking, Sepal lowered his head and charged towards him as well with his head lowered in a Double-Edge, accelerating as he went. Neither Pokemon backed down. At the last second, Sepal threw up a cloud of Razor Leaves around himself that painfully dug into the Machoke. Meanwhile, the Salt's fist connected and sent him sprawling.

It wasn't his usual battling style, but it had done the trick. When Sepal shakily stood up, Salt lay unmoving on the ground.

Korrina nodded her approval as she recalled Salt. "Excellent. You really know how to roll with the punches."

Sepal made his way off the battlefield, dazed. 'Roll with the punches…' maybe Korrina was right. It had taken everything he had to stay conscious after a Power-Up-Punch-boosted, Guts-boosted punch from a Machoke of all things, as well as fight the damage he received from Double Edge.

Tochi was thrilled. "Woah! Was that like a Grass-type Flame Charge?"

"Maybe," Sepal said tiredly. "Can you take over?"

Tochi glanced at Korrina's last Pokemon, a Hawlucha. "Looks like I'll have to."

As soon as Tochi stepped onto the field, Hawlucha gave him a deep bow and sprung into action. She leaped into the air, did a flip, and body-slammed Tochi so hard he crumpled to the ground.

"Ow!" Tochi shot Embers at her, but she dodged them all and landed ten feet away. She polished her claws like nothing had happened.

Tochi, remembering the success he had against Sugar the Mienfoo, activated Flame Charge and ran laps to build up his speed. The Hawlucha hesitated, glancing at her Trainer.

"Eggs, use Flying Press!" Korrina said decisively. Eggs?

Eggs the Hawlucha obeyed. She launched herself into the air and dive-bombed Tochi from above. Her feathers caught fire, but she purposely hit the ground on her side and went straight into a roll to smother the flames. She bounced to her feet, slightly scorched but almost completely unhurt.

Now that Tochi was considerably more agile, he went on the offensive. He alternately shot bursts of flame and psychic energy at Eggs as she leaped into the air to avoid his attacks. At the same time, Tochi had to dodge punches, kicks, and full-on body-slams-from-the-sky. Tochi couldn't handle very many of her attacks, and Eggs had to stop and put out her burning feathers every time she landed a hit, but the two were locked in a stalemate for several minutes.

At last, Eggs got a lucky break. A particularly painful Power-Up Punch in Tochi's jaw made him lose his concentration, and his Flame Charge flickered to a stop. The Hawlucha immediately used the opportunity to land a sort of improvised Close Combat with wings - whatever it was, it hurt like heck, and Tochi had to break away and fire a Psybeam to have time to bring his flaming shield back up.

" _Soy aprendiendo español en escuela!"_ Hawlucha said triumphantly. She launched herself at Tochi, wings out spread, and tackled him to the ground before proceeding to beat him up all over again. Tochi hit her with Ember several times, but she was already basically ignoring the Flame Charge she was sitting on top of, so he resorted to another Psybeam, which at least made her back off and shake her head. Tochi knew he couldn't stand another hit from Eggs.

He stepped backwards, looks exhausted and defeated, and Eggs dramatically approached him, apparently sensing her victory within reach. As soon as she was almost in punching distance, Tochi dropped his facade and blasted her with a Fire Spin. It actually worked from close range. Eggs tumbled backwards, now trapped in a cage of fire.

With his opponent finally prevented from dodging or attacking, the last leg of Tochi's battle was like shooting Ducklett in a barrel. Like the Tyrunt and Mienfoo before her, Tochi's Psybeam (which was possibly replacing Flame Charge as his favorite, now that he had free rein) brought Eggs into unconsciousness.

Korrina had a rueful expression as she recalled her last Pokemon and looked up at Tochi and Sepal, but horribly battered and standing in the middle of a Gym laced with flaming patches of ground. Still, she smiled brightly. "Wow! Just, wow! Grant told me he was impressed, but I wasn't expecting such a display. You two are on a roll!"

She skated over (did she ever take those off?) and handed them the Rumble Badge and some money. "And I believe you're halfway through the League now, right? That's just fantastic!...not to steal Viola's catchphrase, I mean."

Tochi nudged Sepal. "Are you gonna show her the thing?"

"Oh!" Campbell's advice had slipped his mind. Sepal rummaged in his bag and brought out the mysterious blue stone.

Korrina's eyes lit up. "Ooh, that's a Venusaurite, that's for sure. Mega Evolution used to be rare and sacred, but more and more Trainers are popping up with Mega Stones in hand. My grandpa's getting swamped with work."

"Won't I need a special thingy to go along with it?" Sepal asked.

Korrina wrinkled her brow, trying to decipher what he'd said. "A Mega Ring? Welllll, those are usually for the Trainers, so I don't see why you need one. You might not being able to Mega Evolve at all without a Trainer to help you."

Sepal deflated.

"But!" Korrina continued. "I'm sure you'll find a way. You're a resourceful Pokemon, aren't you? There's gotta be a way for you to do it."

"All right," Sepal said. "Thank you."

"One more thing." Korrina dug something shiny out of her pocket. "Braixen - er, Tochi, I've heard? - you seem like you could make good use of this. I'd like to give you a little something!" She handed him a disc with _Power-Up Punch_ neatly written on it. Tochi's response was a diabolical grin.

"Stop by and visit any time! My Pokemon'd love a rematch!"

~*Q*~

It was still late morning, so Sepal and Tochi didn't sleep just yet. They did pick up a room in the Pokemon Center, though; they needed to rest for a little while after the strenuous battle.

"That's it," Tochi said. "We've been slacking. We are training a _ton_ on the next route, no questions."

"It seemed easier, though," Sepal mused.

"Fighting-types are do-or-die; their battles go by fast because they have to punch things a lot before their endurance runs out," Tochi said dismissively. "Not that that's not an awesome way to battle." He glanced at their bag, where he had safely stashed his new Fighting-type TM.

"Know what?" Sepal said suddenly.

"What?"

"I really like the idea of Korrina's thing, Mega Evolution. And I keep wondering why Professor Sycamore gave Venusaurite to me. I think...I wasn't sure why I came with you at first, Tochi, but I want that to be my goal now. I want to Mega Evolve."

"That's a perfect goal," Tochi said instantly. "And I wish Mega Delphox existed so I could steal it from you."

"So it's not silly?"

"Silly? Dude, most Pokemon would give their right paws for a chance like that."

Sepal smiled. " I want to head out."

"To Coumarine?"

"To Coumarine!"

~*Q*~

 **A/N: I actually grew to really like Korrina while I was looking her up to write this chapter. (For every chapter I write, I must spend like an hour of the time researching all the little details and then getting sidetracked.) Probably why I gave her Pokemon nicknames - she just seemed like the kind of person to do it. Why cake ingredients, though, is a mystery. Flour is totally the name of that Lucario, by the way. Don't worry, say it over and over and Flour the Lucario actually starts to sound cool.**

 **Please review! Times are tough. It means a lot to me.**

 **~*Akirys*~**


	16. Obstacles! They Never End!

**A/N: Shortish chapter! At last!**

~*Q*~

Tochi and Sepal had faced many challenges. Fear. Uncertainty. Strong opponents. And a stalker wearing a pink dress. But nothing had quite compared to what lay before them: thirty feet of water.

"Why don't they have a bridge?" Tochi asked as he paced back and forth in frustration. "Everyone has to go through this route, and _no one builds a bridge?"_

Sepal lay in a patch of sunlight, even though the sandy beach was damp and gritty. "Maybe...everyone but us can swim?"

"Pretty sure not all humans are Water-type." Tochi kept pacing. With two feet, it was more satisfying because he could stomp down really hard.

He turned to the water and yelled, "HEY! Water-types! Help us!" His only reply was a stream of water to the face from someone - Tentacool, maybe? Tochi sputtered, and whoever it was left ripples in the water and swam away.

"That didn't work," said Sepal. Tochi didn't answer.

They might have been stuck there forever if a voice hadn't called, "Ha! I found you!"

Both Tochi and Sepal jumped. They looked around themselves to see -

" _Campbell?!"_

"Been looking all over." Campbell the Smeargle slid off of a grassy hill to join them. "So you just beat Korrina? Wouldn't you know, the townshumans are talking about you!"

"How are you here?" Tochi asked in amazement.

Campbell fidgeted, as always. "Well...after you left, I thought: hey, ain't it kind of lonely not being able to hold a conversation with anybody? And Sepal's traveling with an almost-kind-of-Psychic type, so aren't you being a big chicken? So I was like: Yes. I am a chicken. So I gathered my courage and went to Cyllage, and after that it was easy."

Now that the shock was wearing off, something was a little odd about Campbell. Sepal pointed to the Smeargle's feet - he had tied bags full of dirt around them. "Um…"

"Oh!" Campbell looked down. "Ehe, I wasn't completely ready to leave Route 7, you know, so I put some Route 7 soil in a bag. That way I would technically still be walking on familiar territory."

"...That's kind of weird," said Tochi.

"Don't judge your elders!"

They kept staring at him, so Campbell changed the subject. "So what're you two hanging around here for?"

Tochi pointed to Azure Bay. "We're stuck. Neither of us can swim and the Pokemon here are unfriendly."

"Good thing your best friend's here, then." Campbell tapped his chest. "I can Surf you guys across!"

"How?" Sepal asked.

"Master of moves, remember?" Campbell walked over to the water and effortlessly stepped on top of it. "Surf, Dive, Waterfall...I sketched those ages ago. Oh, I'm up to five hundred and twelve now, just so you know. Turns out that Geosenge has tons of Pokemon in it. Now come here, I'll carry you."

"That, too: how?" Tochi asked.

"Strength."

"And I guess you can Fly, too? Tochi said, somewhat sarcastically.

"Learned it from a Talonflame," Campbell said cheerfully. "We going or what?" Sepal shrugged and let the Smeargle hoist him over his shoulder. Tochi followed a second later, looking nervously down at the blue water.

"Please...don't drop me."

"Have I ever?"

Campbell started to walk. Sepal and Tochi weren't heavy for him, exactly, but they were both bigger than him. Carrying two evolved starters at a time was cumbersome, so the two of them tried to jostle Campbell as little as possible. Campbell didn't seem concerned.

"So," he said cheerfully. "You two know you're famous?"

"We are?" Tochi said.

"Darn right. Two Trainer-less Pokemon makes for a good story, but no one really _found out_ about it until you were halfway through the Gym circuit. I blame Korrina; I've heard she gets chatty. Does she ever take off those skates?"

"Wait, is that bad?" Sepal asked. "Being, um, famous?"

"It might be," Tochi said slowly. "I mean, we already have to run from most Trainers as it is,"

"Aw, there's nothing wrong with getting recognized," Campbell said. "Just avoid the presses with bad reps, smile for the cameras, say everything you do is either going for the homeless or the sad children…"

"I think I prefer being a fugitive."

"Oh!" Sepal said suddenly. "We'll have to hurry, Campbell. There's someone who's after us."

"Ah, the price of fame."

"Not that." Sepal went on to explain Miss Shana. "We think she's following us, maybe waiting for a chance when we're alone."

Campbell hummed thoughtfully as he stepped onto dry land. He set Tochi and Sepal down, who both looked faintly dizzy. "Not much I can do about that. But if I see her, I'll stall her for you two."

"Aren't you coming to Coumarine with us?" asked Tochi.

"You know what? At first, yeah. But I'm an old Pokemon. I'd like to explore the region, find more moves while I have the chance."

Sepal gave him the quadruped equivalent of a hug - butting his head against Campbell's shoulder. "We'll miss you."

"Me too, Sepal. I'll come visit after I find Rayquaza and wrestle Dragon Ascent out of him!" Tochi shook his paw, and Campbell waved at the two of them. He took two steps, broke into a run, and then jumped - at least three hundred feet into the air. Squinting against the sun, they saw him spread his arms and soar away at an angle.

"...Well, he wasn't kidding about learning Fly," Tochi said.

There wasn't really anything to do except keep walking.

~*Q*~

Route 12 was centered around a huge Pokemon ranch: a ranch for Skiddo, to be exact. Because of this, the route was relatively short. Still, Tochi pulled Sepal along on a shortcut by cutting through the center of the Baa de Mer ranch.

There were Skiddo everywhere; some sleeping, some frolicking around. The ones awake were extremely hyper. Despite their size, the starters had to avoid getting trampled by one of them.

"Hi!" a Skiddo sang when he noticed them. "Wanna ride?"

Tochi had a sudden flashback to a certain Gogoat in Lumiose. "Um, no thanks."

The only reason it took them two hours to reach Coumarine was because Tochi held both of them to their pledge of training. It was relatively easy because the route was filled with Tauros, all of whom were always trying to pick fights. It was also easy to attract them because of one of Sepal's new moves, Sweet Scent.

"I have an idea!" Tochi said at one point. H e dug into his bag and pulled something out - the EXP Share that the human, Alexa, had given them.

"I forgot about that," Sepal said. "So one of us can just wear it?"

"I don't see why not."

"I call it, then." Sepal tugged the device around his leg with his teeth and wandered off to sit in the sun.

Tochi watched him, amused. "You just wanna do nothing?"

"It's weird...lately, I can't get enough sunshine."

"Maybe it's another close-to-evolution thing."tr

"If it is, and I'm evolving soon, I don't want to just yet," Sepal said with a slight frown. "I like being an Ivysaur. I'm not sure I want to be so...big."

"Fine with me if you hold off," Tochi said reassuringly. "Me, though, I want to evolve - Malva won't bother adding a Braixen to her team, but a Delphox? Those are really tough!"

~*Q*~

They arrived in Coumarine in the late afternoon. By the time they found a Wingull to tell them the Gym Leader wasn't even in this part of the town, the sun was setting. Tochi was twitching with impatience.

They had to go to a monorail station so they could quickly reach the other half of town.

The front desk lady looked at them in mild confusion. "Hello?'

"Will you take us to the train thing?" Tochi asked, very slowly and clearly.

"Er, I'm sorry. Are you looking for your Trainer?"

Tochi found the nearest wall and banged his head against it.

"Hey! I recognize you two!" a human sitting in a chair said suddenly. "Aren't you Tochi and Sepal, those two starters with the Gym badges?"

Suddenly the rest of the station was filled with gasps of recognition. "It _is_ them! Cool! Can I see your badges?"

"They might need to get to the Coumarine Gym, miss," the first human told the one at the front desk. Tochi and Sepal nodded along.

"If that's the case, I guess there aren't any rules against it," the front desk lady said uneasily. "Very well. Go on through the gate; the monorail's departing shortly."

"Thanks!" Tochi told the human brightly. He blushed a bit and grinned back. All the other humans chattered excitedly.

"That was odd," remarked Sepal. "Good thing it's over...?"

No such luck. Minutes after the monorail departed, one of the humans on the train recognized them and set all the humans to excited talking again. One of them even threw a Pokeball at Tochi, which Sepal easily blocked. Not only did the Ivysaur send him a death glare, but the Trainer was immediately set upon by at least half of the passengers, who started to yell about equal rights for Pokemon. The other half starting arguing about the ethics of capturing a Pokemon who clearly wasn't already owned. Tochi and Sepal escaped the monorail as soon as it stopped, just as purses and bottles started to fly.

"Is this our life now?" Sepal asked, a little desperately.

"I...don't know," Tochi said. "We'd better get to the Gym."

Thankfully, the Gym was only a block away from the station, though it required walking up a huge hill. Once inside, they were confronted with the likes of which they hadn't seen since Cyllage: a (literal) jungle gym extending far above the ground. It appeared that the only way to ascend it was through ropes and vines covering random chasms. And to top it off, there were at least two different directions to go on each level; from here, they could even see some dead ends.

"Oh, _no…"_ Tochi groaned.

"My homies!" It was the Gym guide, as usual. "My brother called me and said our brother told our brother told our brother to tell him you were coming."

Tochi blinked, confused. "Um...that's good?"

"That's all I've got, really. Have fun climbing!"

"Wait!" Tochi nudged Sepal, who got the idea and put on his big-innocent-sparkly-eyes face. "We're only two Pokemon. Sepal here doesn't even have hands. Isn't there a different way for us to get to the top?"

"I have no idea what you just said."

"Us not climbing."

"Oh! Okay." The Gym guide scratched his chin. "Well, for humans, we have an Exeggutor who uses Psychic to lift them to the top. But I dunno about Pokemon. It might work, but it could be a little painful."

Tochi looked at Sepal, who shook his head. "I'm sorry, but there is _no way_ I'm letting a Pokemon named 'executor' use a Psychic-type move on me."

Tochi sighed dejectedly. "Well, I can't let you go alone."

"You can if you want."

"Nah. Climbing it is."

~*Q*~

"Grab the rope! Gra -"

Tochi missed and fell onto the safety net. He would have rolled off if Sepal hadn't held out one of his vines for him to grab onto. Tochi held it with one hand and crawled back onto safer ground.

"This _sucks,"_ Tochi said.

Sepal looked up at the platform above them. "I think that's the last one, but I don't know if I can do another vine-pull-up."

"Are you glad you didn't become a Venusaur?"

"Very."

A wrinkly human face stuck itself over the ledge to look at them, and both Tochi and Seal flinched. "What's taking yeh so long?"

"We can't climb!" Tochi called up.

"Not yeh. I only speak Grass-type."

"Um," Sepal said, "We're having trouble getting to the top."

"Eh?"

"WE CAN'T CLIMB!"

"Oh. Follow me, there's a slide over here you can drag yerselves up." Ramos hobbled off, using a giant pair of hedge-clippers in lieu of a walker.

The starters followed, relieved. The slide was slippery and narrow, but it was ten times easier than trying to haul themselves up an obstacle course meant for humans.

Ramos was waiting for them as they reached the very top. He gave them a beady-eyed look. "I've heard a lot about yeh, sprouts. Yeh're trying to get all the badges, aren't yeh?"

"Yes."

"Ain't right. Traditions say yeh should have a Trainer! Ain't that the way things go?"

"I hate him," Tochi said instantly.

"But I'll give yeh a shot. Are yeh weeds takin' over a perfectly fine garden, or a brand-new kinda plant? Show me!" Ramos released a Jumpluff.

Tochi stepped forwards. "It is _on!"_

~*Q*~

 **A/N: Of every character in this chapter, only one of them was female, and she had like two lines. I should do something about that gender ratio. Muhahahaha.**

 **Return of Campbell, and a Gym battle to come! Review if you wish!**

 **~*Akirys*~**


	17. Grass Knots

**A/N: Got a migraine? Who cares! Write anyways! THAT IS ALL THAT EXISTS IN LIFE!**

 **...Ahem. Hope you enjoy this chapter; review if you can, each one helps a lot!**

 **~*Q*~**

Tochi glared down at Ramos' Jumpluff. The Grass-type gave him an absentminded grin but otherwise didn't seem to care.

"Well, okay," Tochi mumbled. "Flame Charge!"

He rushed for the Pokemon, but Jumpluff lazily floated higher into the air. Tochi tried to stop and aim a Fire Spin at him, but something caught his ankle and sent him tumbling to the ground. Tochi looked down; a plant had formed straight out of the ground and wrapped itself around him.

"Like it? It's Grass Knot," Jumpluff said dreamily. Tochi tried shaking it off to no avail. Meanwhile, Ramos leaned on his hedgeclippers and watched.

In the time it took for Tochi to intensify his Flame Charge and burn the durable little plant off, Jumpluff had tossed a couple of Leech Seeds onto his head. Bad enough when Sepal did it, but Leech Seeds in general were just not okay.

Tochi jumped into the air. The Jumpluff was a better floater than flier, so Tochi got a direct Flame Charge in, only to be sent crashing to the ground the second he had fallen enough for a second Grass Knot to kick in. This one was burnt away by his fire almost immediately, but Tochi was beginning to catch on to the Jumpluff's strategy - make his opponents trip until they couldn't get up as he himself floated lazily above their heads. Oh, the irony.

Thankfully, Flame Charge wasn't the only way Tochi knew how to fight (though it certainly was his favorite). Tochi stood in one place and fired Embers as fast as he could. The Jumpluff flapped his cottony arms, but he only managed to turn a few of the fireballs off their path. The rest struck him, leaving ashes on his face and little smoldering patches on his fluff. Seconds later, the Leech Seed kicked in and healed some of the damage.

Tochi winced. "Seriously, Leech Seeds are gross."

"That's your opinion!" Sepal called.

While Tochi's long-distance attacks were even more powerful than his Flame Charge at times, he had never been good at aiming. As soon as the Jumpluff caught onto his Ember strategy, he started to dodge and weave with more energy, generating gusts of wind and using them to tilt this way and that. Fire flew _everywhere,_ and everyone but Tochi was forced to duck for cover.

"Watch it!" Ramos ordered, pulling a fire extinguisher from beneath his desk and using it to put out the smoking wooden platforms. Apparently, he had experience with Fire-types trying to wreck his Gym.

"Hey, not my fault!" Tochi unleashed a barrage of particularly vicious Embers, and to his surprise, four of them actually hit their mark. As soon as the Jumpluff was caught off guard, Tochi was able to nail him with a Fire Spin that locked him in place. The Braixen attempted to finish him off with a Flame Charge, but he had forgotten about Grass Knot; Tochi was sent sprawling yet again.

"Ha-ha…" Jumpluff hummed with an 'even-if-I'm-trapped-in-a-cage-of-fire-I-might-as-well mock-him-while-I-have-the-chance' expression. Then he activated the Leech Seed again.

Tochi grimaced and gripped his wand in both hands as if he was aiming a rifle. Closing one eye, he brought the stick up to his face like a slingshot and aimed as precisely as possible. Sure enough, he fired enough Embers to knock the Jumpluff out just as the Fire Spin faded.

"Humph!" Ramos returned Jumpluff and sent out a Weepinbell without preamble. Tochi barely had enough time to pick away the remnants of Leech Seed and Grass Knot.

"Fear me!" Weepinbell bellowed. "For it is I, the Forest King!"

"What forest?" Tochi asked. "Isn't Coumarine near a pier and a power plant?"

Weepinbell huffed. He would've crossed his arms if he had any. "I'm a Grass-type. A mon can dream, can't he?" Tochi decided not to respond.

Instead, he let his Flame Charge burn brighter than ever and ran towards the opponent. Weepinbell waited until the last second before waving his leaves almost lazily. Immediately, Tochi tripped.

"Come on! You too?"

"The Forest King knows no bounds!"

Either that was true, or Weepinbell was ripping off Jumpluff's strategy. The second Tochi stopped to burn the Grass Knot away, Weepinbell bounded over and coughed a load of poisonous spores onto his head.

Tochi hacked as the Poison Powder took effect, tinting his face purple. "I did not miss this."

Weepinbell responded with a villainous laugh. "The Forest King has you now! Try to move an inch, and my plant minions will send you to the ground! Try to attack, and my Acid can douse any flames!" To emphasize his point, he spat some corrosive orangey stuff at Tochi's feet and let it slowly trickle towards him.

Tochi waited till Weepinbell was looking at him, then spun his stick like a baton - perhaps being a little showier than usual. "Fire isn't the only thing I can do. Wanna see my new trick? _Psyshock!"_

His eyes flashed. From his stick, orbs of purple-blue energy rocketed out and targeted Weepinbell, physically knocking him backwards. Weepinbell shouted in rage and gushed Acid everywhere, but Tochi kept him far away through a consistent stream of Psyshock orbs backed up by Psybeam. Maybe an overdose of Psychic energy, but it did the trick; Weepinbell fainted soon afterwards, and Tochi paused to unravel the Grass Knot yet again.

"Wow…" Sepal marveled, surprisingly calm. "That was terrifying."

Tochi rubbed his temples, wincing at the poison still in his system. "And now I have a crazy headache."

"Hmm," Ramos nodded, recalling his Weepinbell. "Now switch with the Ivysaur!"

"What?" Tochi blurted. "No way, I can keep going!"

"I don't know what yeh just said, young'n, but I don't like bein' argued with. Yeh've impressed me so far, with yer fancy moves and whatnot, but I've seen more'n enough Braixen and Delphox in here to last me a lifetime. And don't get me started on Mega Charizard! 'Get a Ludicolo, or at least a Torterra,' they say. No dice!" Ramos struck his hedge clippers against the ground. "I'm usin' my team because I care about them, not 'cuz of type advantages. Git that Ivysaur out there so we can see what a fair fight looks like!"

"No," Tochi said. "Because...your gym sucks!"

Ramos read the Braixen's expression. "You asked for it. Gogoat!"

A Gogoat burst out of his Pokeball and regally glared down at Tochi. Tochi shifted but didn't look away, thinking he'd be fine as long as the Gogoat didn't try to take him for a ride.

"All right...let's see if _this_ works!" For the third time, Tochi started off with Flame Charge. He thought he had it until another Grass Knot made him fall on his face. "Are you serious?" he groaned, peeling himself off the floor.

"Very," the Gogoat informed him as he scraped a hoof across the floor.

"Right then," Ramos said. "Bulldoze!"

" _Bul -"_

The Gogoat reared up and struck the ground before Tochi had even finished his sentence. The floor shook so strongly that Tochi was ripped straight out of his Grass Knot restraints. Sepal, who was off to the side, hung on through not being subjected to the brunt of the attack, but Tochi wasn't so lucky. He bounced against the ground and rolled straight off the edge of the arena.

Sepal cried out, but Tochi didn't have far to fall. After a few seconds, Ramos' Jumpluff came drifting back up with Tochi draped against his head. He deposited Tochi with a dreamy, "I almost let you drop, you know."

Tochi groaned and started getting to his feet, but the Gogoat simply slammed his hooves down and Bulldozed the floor again, breaking it into clods of dirt above a metal frame. Tochi just barely avoided falling off. It was all he could do to avoid the more deadly clods of dirt being flung into the air, let alone aim a Fire-type move.

"Change yer mind yet, whippersnapper?" Ramos asked.

Finally, either the poison or the constant Bulldozing took its toll, and Tochi fainted. The Gogoat quickly stopped before he was tossed around too much like a ragdoll.

"Tochi!" Sepal ran onto the field. After about thirty seconds, Tochi stirred and cracked his eyes open.

"...Ow."

"Wait for me at the bottom of the slide," Sepal coaxed. "You shouldn't get hit by any more of those Bulldozes."

"Yeah…" Tochi limped off, looking less hurt than extremely ticked off, though still very pained.

Sepal faced Ramos. "Fine. I'm ready."

"Yeh are, are yeh? Gogoat! Take Down!"

Sepal tried to dodge, but he looked down just in time to see Grass Knot wrapped around his leg. Knowing he was unable to run, Sepal instead went as low to the dirt as possible. The Gogoat still kicked him hard, but he also tripped and went down on his side.

"Yeh just avoided a Grass Knot by turning yerself into one…" Ramos remarked. "See why I wanted to battle?"

While he was down, Sepal attempted to unleash a Razor Leaf on the Gogoat. However, it didn't work he way he planned. The attack hit the Pokemon, all right, but instead of being damaged, Gogoat appeared to absorb it. While Sepal was distracted, he used Take Down again and slammed him across the field.

"Sap Sipper?" Sepal guessed with a wince.

"Sap Sipper," Gogoat confirmed.

Sap Sipper. That ruled out most of Sepal's moves. He ran through them in his head: no spores, no Leech Seed, no Vine Whip or Razor Leaf...all he had was Poison Powder (which wouldn't work anyways) and a handful of Normal-type moves. This would be trouble.

Sepal ran at Gogoat with his own Take Down. Gogoat mimicked him, and they both tried to fake each other out just before collision; Gogoat with Grass Knot, and Sepal with a huge, sneeze-inducing plume of Sweet Scent. While Sepal was sent rolling to the ground, Gogoat was caught off guard and, blinded by the pink dust, tripped on Sepal again. Sepal used the opportunity to charge into Gogoat with Double-Edge. He had to pause to stomach the damage he took through the attack, giving Gogoat a chance to shake his head and get back up.

Gogoat brought his hooves down for another Bulldoze attack. Sepal dug his vines into the dirt just in time to stabilize himself. He was knocked off his feet, but his vines and his Grass typing neutralized much of the damage. Gogoat snorted angrily, and Sepal Growled back.

Then the Gogoat and Sepal found themselves at a stalemate: Grass Knot, Bulldoze, and Sepal's various moves did minimal damage, so they were stuck Take Down-ing and Double Edge-ing each other. Sepal Growled at regular intervals, and used Growth whenever he could, until he was at least as tall as the Gogoat; having boosting moves was at least one advantage Sepal could claim.

Finally, both Sepal and Gogoat were on their last legs. The Gogoat stomped the ground with one last Bulldoze attack. Grass Knot attacks exploded out of the ground, throwing Sepal off balance. Gogoat charged at him a final time, and Sepal braced himself against the hit, catching Gogoat's horns with his vines, before Tackling him, sending the Gogoat skidding backwards. It fell unconscious in a heap on the floor.

Ramos seemed pleased as he recalled Gogoat. "Congratulations!"

"Thanks."

"Yeh and yer friend down there have mightily earned this, the Plant Badge. I was harsh on yeh, was I? I'm not used to Trainer-less Pokemon having free rein of the Gyms."

"You might need to get used to it soon," Sepal told him as he slipped the money and badge into his bag and hoisted it on his back. "There might be lots more Pokemon who'll do the same thing we have someday."

"Eh? Ah, well. Mighty oaks from acorns grow."

Then Tochi's voice called from the bottom of the Gym: "Sepal? We have a problem!"

~*Q*~

Tochi and Sepal crouched by the door of the Gym, which was open just a crack. Anxiously, they watched the conversation outside take place.

"Miss Shana," Tochi murmured. "She found us again."

"We were pretty obvious on the monorail."

"Shh!"

Miss Shana, still in her pink dress, was talking to a group of humans just outside the Gym. Three of them carried huge machines, like Viola's cameras but far bigger, while the fourth one spoke into a stick that Tochi could tell very slightly magnified her voice.

"So, we wanted to get an interview with those starters, but we came across someone with a very close connection to them," the woman with the stick said as she stared into one of the giant machines. "Miss Shana Wilcox, twenty-eight, Vaniville, is the proprietor of the Vaniville Starter Center, a home for Pokemon destined to begin journeys alongside Trainers. Tochi and Sepal, an Ivysaur and a Braixen, have recently escaped this shelter, and Shana here has fully dedicated herself to making sure these Pokemon return home safely."

"Absolutely!" Shana chirped. "I just love my angels at the Starter Center. Pokemon have been disappearing left and right, and we can't have them not home where they belong!"

"What if the Pokemon don't want to return?" the woman asked. "These two seem to have made greatest progress in their journey so far."

"Nonsense," Shana said confidently. "They may be adorable, but they're just Pokemon, after all."

"Equal rights for Pokemon!" a different human in the crowd shouted angrily, and suddenly the air was filled with furious accusations as the woman with the stick tried desperately to maintain order.

"Now's our chance!" Tochi whispered. "Run!"

They cracked the Gym door open further. They didn't make it two seat before one of the machine-toting humans shouted "Hey, it's them!", and they were surrounded and bombarded with questions.

"Everyone move aside!" Miss Shana pleaded. "I need to take my babies back to the shelter!"

"And do what, let them rot?" someone retorted, and that set the crowds off again.

" _Hey!"_ It was Ramos. He hobbled outside angrily, hitting people in the legs with his hedge-clippers. "What're you whippersnappers doin' on my lawn?"

"Lawn?" the stick lady asked confusedly.

" _Git!"_

"He's talking to us!" Tochi realized, and he and Sepal fled.

"No! Stop them, Jubilance!" Miss Shana released a Granbull who - despite her name - looked angry enough to chew concrete to pieces. Jubilance jumped over the crowd and stormed after the starters, but someone released a Pidgeotto in their defense, and then came a Vanilluxe, then a Tropius that dwarfed most of the humans…

Long after Tochi and Sepal were out of sight, Tochi cocked his ears and reported that it still sounded like a madhouse, but Shana wasn't after them quite yet. They slowed to a walk after realizing that neither of them had been to the Pokemon center after the battle, and it _hurt._

"What's the nearest city?" Sepal groaned, looking nervously at the Dugtrio that churned dirt from belowground. The area south of Coumarine was a reddish wasteland with Ground-types everywhere, all enjoying the cool underground. Large metal structures rose in the distance.

"Lumiose, again," Tochi panted. Unlike Sepal, he was in full 'faint' status; a hit from any Pokemon could cause him serious damage before his natural Pokemon strength was restored. "Then north. To Laverre."

"Okay."

Tochi was silent for a while, conserving energy. "How'd the battle go?"

"Fine. Tiring."

"Well, it won't be long," Tochi said. "Hopefully we're find a place to rest up soon."

"I hope so."

~*Q*~

 **A/N: Ramos isn't really my favorite Gym Leader, so I'm not sure** ** _what_** **I did with his characterization. Good guy, bad guy, cranky old wiener? Perhaps an open-ended interpretation.**

 **Anyways, next chapter is important! See you then!**

 **~*Akirys*~**


	18. Bub Not Bubbles

**A/N: Important newest chapter! And, hopefully, not the last one of the day. I've gotta go back to writing like the wind as soon as this one is uploaded.**

 **~*Q*~**

The desolateness of Route 13 grew tiresome after a short while, Thankfully, the Lumiose Badlands wasn't a particularly long way to go. That didn't make it any less annoying.

"Are we there yet?" Tochi asked, after a Trapinch popped up underneath him for the fourth time.

"No."

"Are we close?"

"Maybe."

Another Trapinch popped up, scaring Tochi out of his wits. "Hey, I challenge you to a battle!"

Tochi set him on fire. They kept walking.

As they neared the entrance to Lumiose, Tochi peered ahead through the sand and wind. "Hey...are those humans up there, by the gate?"

Sepal squinted. "I can't see anything."

Tochi listened, and his eyes went wide. "One of them just said your name, Sepal."

"They're probably waiting for us," Sepal guessed. "I guess...keep walking, but be careful?"

Sure enough, a bunch of humans were camped out at the entrance. Tochi and Sepal tried to scoot around them to no avail. One of the humans practically rushed them, followed by several others, while a bored-looking Zoroark brought up the rear.

"Hi!" the first human said eagerly. "You're, um, those two starters, right? Tochi and Sepal?"

Tochi glanced at Sepal. "Yeah."

"He said yes," the Zoroark translated. Tochi jumped - she could speak _human?_

"Excellent," the human cheered. "This is Jenga, by the way. She's our translator."

"Hi," Sepal said.

"What up."

"So, you know you've attracted lots of attention recently, right?" the human said. "Well, my name's Hartley, and I'm a reporter for the _Lumiose Pre_ \- hey, where are you going?"

Tochi had been trying to sneak away with Sepal again. "Um...nowhere?"

"They're lying," Jenga reported.

"Hey, whose side are you on?"

"Look," Hartley said, "I know you two are a little leery around humans, but we're just looking for a good scoop. You two know Alexa, right? We work with her. She gave us this for proof." Hartley held up a picture of a Fennekin and a Bulbasaur squished together with slightly nervous smiles on their faces. Tochi felt dizzy Had that really been him barely a week ago?

"Alexa was nice," Sepal admitted, pausing to let Jenga translate. "She gave us a free bag."

"So...I _guess_ we can talk to you," Tochi picked up. "As long as you don't try and capture us."

"Absolutely not," Hartley said firmly. "It'll just take a little while. You two are taking Kalos by storm!"

~*Q*~

Being interviewed was not quite as fun as it sounded. They had to stop every other sentence so Jenga the Zoroark could translate for the humans. Plus, Tochi and Sepal couldn't find anything particularly glamorous to share - they had walked a lot, ate food, slept, battled, evolved, learned new moves. Wasn't that was Pokemon did every day?

Still, Hartley the human didn't seem to mind. After twenty minutes, Hartley had jotted down notes on a little pad of paper and recorded their conversation on a tiny box. (Playing their voices back was fun. Tochi sounded more high-pitched than he thought.)

"Oh, and a lady from the Shelter is trying to kidnap us," Sepal remarked. "We had to run away from her in Coumarine."

Hartley listened to the translation, and his eyebrow quirked. "Kidnappings? Care to say more?"

"Not really."

"Oh. Well, that's fine. If you're on the run, we should pack up and let you two get going." Tochi nodded along. He had gotten too impatient for the conversation a while ago.

Hartley and his crew packed up their cameras and things, and Jenga gave them a wave. "Good luck with the Laverre gym. Valerie's pretty tough!"

"Valerie!" Hartley blurted. "Hey, Sepal, I heard about how Korrina gave you a TM to share, but only Tochi can use Power-Up Punch. I decided, where's the justice in that? So I got you a little something in thanks." He handed Sepal a shiny purple TM. Words were scrawled on it in black marker.

Tochi peered over Sepal's shoulder. "Sludge Bomb? That's amazing!"

"Wish I had this two hours ago," Sepal remarked, passing it to Tochi so he could store it in their bag. Still, Sepal looked excited.

"I take it you're grateful," Hartley guessed. "Good, that's great. Guess we should let you two move along."

"Bye!" Sepal said. He stopped to wave with his vine even as Tochi dragged him along, anxious to reach Lumiose and the next route.

"Take care."

~*Q*~

"We're back in Lumiose," Tochi said, looking around at the familiar sights - the crowds of people, the Prism Tower rising in the distance. "I don't know whether to be happy or not."

"I'm not," Sepal shivered.

Tochi remembered what had happened the last time they were here. "Yeah, me neither."

Finding the way to Laverre was easy. After stopping a couple of humans, they met one who sent out a Pokemon he knew well to translate for him. The human was able to point them in the direction of Route 14, so they thanked him and his Ponyta and moved along.

Tochi and Sepal were still recognized, but comparatively less. Maybe it was because of the huge amount of tourists in the streets, making it hard for anyone to see them. Whatever the case, it was a relief to fly under the radar after the mess that was Coumarine.

"What if there are a lot of Trainers who know where we're going?" Sepal worried as they arrived at the entrance to Route 15.

"That'll probably happen," Tochi predicted. "And then they'll start to stalk us and stuff. But I think we can lose them before Laverre. After all, routes are usually filled with trees and tall grass to hide in and - oh…"

In front of them loomed the Laverre Nature Trail, but it wasn't so much a nature trail as a marshy swamp. Pokemon calls rang ominously from one side of the swamp to another. A Haunter appeared out of nowhere, calmly regarded then, then drifted away.

Sepal looked over at Tochi. To his surprise, the Braixen's face was pale beneath his fur. "Are you okay?"

"Is there _any_ other way to get to Laverre?"

"This is the quickest."

Tochi clung to Sepal. "Then please, just...get me through here. And don't let anybody sneak up behind me."

"Will do."

Each step was difficult. The boggy ground pulled at them like quicksand. Sepal's feet were broad, giving him an easier time at pulling himself out, but Tochi's paws sank two inches for each step he took. And he was weak to both Water and Ground, to boot. Tochi might have been complaining about the mud sticking to his feet if he wasn't braced for a ghost to tap his shoulder at any second.

"We can stop if you want," Sepal pressured.

"I am _not_ staying in here a second longer than I have to."

"What's that up ahead?" Sepal wondered, spotting a faint sparkle in the otherwise gloomy forest.

Tochi covered his eyes. "Don't say stuff like that!"

"No, I mean it."

However, when they reached a location, the only thing they found was a Collector rummaging through the muck. He used a large stick to upturn Shelmet, Stunfisk, and other Pokemon, none of whom seemed happy to be disturbed. Despite this, his white shirt was pristine.

"Just a human," Sepal assured Tochi, who was refusing to uncover his eyes. "Let's g -"

The sucking sound of footsteps in the marsh interrupted them. They turned to see a monstrous Empoleon wading through the marsh. "Mister Edwin, - I fou -"

They stared at each other. The Empoleon dropped the thing in her flippers, a Skorupi with a red coloring, and said in shock, "It's you two!"

"Hey, get that Skorupi back here!" The Collector dropped his stick and ran after him.

The Empoleon ignored him. If the human was her Trainer, she didn't seem concerned. "Tochi and Sepal, right?"

"Right," Tochi said grudgingly. Even random Empoleon in the spooky bog knew their names now.

"Don't you recognize me? It's me!"

"Huh?"

"Hold on," Sepal said suddenly. " _Bub?!"_

The Empoleon looked offended. "It's _Bubbles!"_

Tochi frowned. "Like, Bub, the Piplup from the Vaniville Starter Center?"

"That's Bub, all right," Sepal confirmed. "But..you look different."

"Well, I evolved," Bub said self-consciously. "And it's _Bubbles."_

But now that the surprise wore off, Sepal saw something strange about Bub - at least, compared to what he knew about Empoleon. She was a strangely tinted shade of blue, especially the outlines of her wings, which were a light periwinkle in comparison to the darker blue of a normal Empoleon. "That's right, you were really light-colored as a Piplup too, weren't you?"

"I don't wanna talk about it," Bub said quickly. "The _point_ is, I've been looking for you two everywhere!"

"Because we're famous?" Tochi asked.

"No! Listen. Remember when I helped you escape the center?"

"Yeah."

"Well, once everyone woke up and realized you two had escaped, it was a madhouse," Bub said. "And it got even crazier once word got out that you guys were after the badges. They figured out I was the one who helped you escape, but what could they do, put me in a cage until I learned my lesson?"

"I'm surprised Miss Shana _didn't,"_ Sepal said.

"Oh, her. She left looking for you guys. I hope she's not that much trouble."

Both Tochi and Sepal shrugged and made "ehhhh, sort of" noises.

"Anyways, everyone was super interested because I helped you two escape. They wanted to hear all about it."

Sepal grew suspicious. "You didn't overblow the story to make yourself seem heroic, did you?"

"No! Not much. Uh, anyways...well, then a Totodile, Torchic, and Turtwig teamed up and broke out of there, and then three Oshawotts...If you remember the Tepig twins, they made a big deal about how they would escape, but the supervisors overheard them. Every day, someone would come over and beef up security, but Pokemon just kept breaking out. They even hired an Alakazam, but everyone with Dark-type moves banded together and took her out so this Chikorita could go on her epic solo mission. She said she'd catch a Flying-type and go all the way to Johto. We haven't heard from her since." Bub frowned.

"So when'd you break out?" Tochi asked.

"Well...you know how you wanted me to come with, and I chickened out?"

"We didn't _want_ you," Tochi mumbled, but Sepal gave him a look. "Yeah."

"Well, I felt awful for the longest time about missing my chance. And then I decided, 'you know what, I'm gonna do it.' I made it all the way to Santalune Forest by myself!" Bub's face fell. "And then...I got captured."

Tochi and Sepal winced. "Ouch."

"This Trainer had four badges, so he started training me up to fight Ramos," Bub continued. "But then he realized he already had a Steel-type - his Lucario - so he traded me to some guy with a blue Milotic. And that's how I figured out, well, I'm valuable. They call my coloring 'shiny.'"

"Why?" Sepal asked.

Bub waved her flipper, which sparkled. "Sometimes this happens when I'm excited."

"Keep going," Tochi said, always interested in things that justified that all Trainers (except Malva) were evil.

"The second guy didn't like me because of my ability, Torrent, so he traded me to a lady for a shiny Flygon. Then the lady made me do a thing where I punched balloons in this training thing...I think? Then she traded me for a Pokemon egg, and the new guy evolved me, and then traded me for a shiny Gardevoir, then I was traded for a shiny Ditto, and then Mister Edwin traded for me with a shiny Ponyta. And now I'm here, helping him find more shinies."

"And all this happened in less than a _week?"_ Tochi marveled.

"Yeah."

"I guess shiny Pokemon are like currency," Sepal said out loud, and Bub cringed. "I'm sorry!"

"It's fine," Bub said. "I'm just glad that I found you guys!"

"Will you stay with your new Trainer for a while?" Tochi asked.

"I hope not. I want to escape."

"Escape?"

"And go with you."

"Um -" Sepal could still hear Collector Edwin tramping around in the marsh, searching for the red Skorupi. "How?"

Bub shrugged. "Bargain? Break my Pokeball?"

"We'd love to, Bub -"

"Bubbles."

"-but we can't," Tochi said. "Edwin'd catch us. We're stopping in Laverre for a while, and that's not very far away."

"Edwin doesn't really care about me as a Pokemon, so I'm sure there's a way to get him to let me go free," Bub said seriously. "I'm fine with staying here until you challenge the Gym; then we can run away without being delayed."

"That makes sense," Sepal admitted. "Tochi?"

"Well, we did promise you could come with us."

"Yeah, you did!"

"All right," Tochi said, looking around at the swamp with a shiver. "We'll come back here for you tomorrow."

"I'll make sure we're here!" Bub giggled. She actually had a giddy expression. "Thank you!"

Edwin came tramping back, clutching a Pokeball triumphantly. He looked vaguely towards Bub and pulled out a Dive Ball to return her, barely noticing Tochi and Sepal.

Now that they were alone, the gloom of Route 14 seemed to envelop Tochi all over again.

"Come on!" he urged, tugging Sepal forwards.

Sepal followed much more slowly. Um...what had just _happened?_

~*Q*~

 **A/N: Confession, I have like four or five boxes of shiny Pokemon, and very few of them are safe from the horrors of trading. Heck, I have some blue and gold ones that I'm saving for a Hanukkah-themed giveaway.**

 **Please review! It means so much to me!**

 **~*Akirys*~**


	19. Valerie Stole My Clever Chapter Titles

**A/N: Seriously, NaNoWriMo needs to come with amusement park-style warning labels. 'DO NOT ATTEMPT unless you are willing to write for twelve hours straight.' I wish I were kidding.**

 **Wow, is this chapter long. When did that happen? Was it something in that 'concentration and focus' music I was listening to?**

 **On the bright side, Valerie is my favorite Kalosian Gym Leader, and Laverre has my favorite soundtrack. This was a fun one!**

 **~*Q*~**

Compared to the Laverre Nature Trail, Laverre City itself was an absolute sunshiney paradise. That's not to say it wasn't a little odd.

The town was overrun with giant mushrooms that wouldn't look out of place on a Parasect's back. Despite the fact that it was late spring, the trees were a deep orange as if they were just beginning to change for autumn. Unconcerned humans wandered around - even the starters could tell that their clothes looked a little off. And Tochi, several times, got the suspicious feeling that something was watching him, or maybe there was more than one - light reflected off of eyes in the flowers, in the pond, underneath the mushroom caps.

"I like this place," Sepal said dreamily.

"Might wanna snap out of it," Tochi warned. "What's that legend about fairy rings?"

"Oh…" Sepal looked around surreptitiously. He stuck close to Tochi after that.

The one thing out of place - that is to say, normal, but weird in the context of the town - was a factory with smoke rising from the top. Pokeball insignias were common, but most buildings weren't boasting four gigantic ones on pillars just outside.

"I've heard of this," Sepal said. "It's the Pokeball Factory."

"Then let's stay away from it," decided Tochi. "Have you seen the Gym?"

Sepal pointed to a large tree.

"No, the Gym."

"That is the Gym."

Tochi examined it more closely. "Are you - it is! How did they get it to grow around the building like that?"

"Fairy magic?" Sepal guessed, only slightly joking.

"It's like a normal human house." Tochi was barely tall enough to comfortably reach the knob on the door.

Inside, they were met with, as the exterior suggested, a plain old room. The Gym guide lounged off towards the side, as usual.

Tochi stepped forwards, then waited. "Um...I guess he doesn't want to introduce us?"

"Hu -" The Gym guide spluttered and flailed his arms, propelling himself away from the wall. "I wasn't sleeping! Oh, it's you two. My brother called me and said our brother told our brother told our brother told our brother to tell him you were coming."

"Sure," Sepal said.

"Yeah, this place is pretty straightforward. Hop around on the teleporter pad thingies in the corners. No climbing involved, not that I know of any gyms that require that. Well, you kids have fun." The human leaned back comfortably and closed his eyes.

"'Teleporters?'" Tochi examined a gold button at the back of the room. "This doesn't look - woah!"

As soon as he stepped on it, the pad flashed bright yellow and surrounded him with an eerie glow. Tochi vanished in seconds.

"Uh oh…" Sepal jumped after him.

There was a flash of light, a quick whirling sensation, and Sepal found himself next to Tochi on a different floor. It was a regular old human room with a mannequin in the corner.

"Weird…" Tochi said. "So we have to step on all the teleporters until we find the Gym leader?"

"That shouldn't be as bad as climbing," Sepal said.

It was worse.

Two hours passed. They consisted of randomly warping around the Gym, trying to remember which rooms they had already been to and which pads they needed to step on. Unlike humans, they had no paper or pencils - not a single way of figuring out where to go. Sepal tried leaving little clumps of Sleep Powder behind as markers, but tiny Pokemon (maybe Cottonee) were sweeping the dust away as soon as their backs were turned. Even the resident Gym Trainers, once Sepal and Tochi had battled all of them, started to feel bad as they watched them wander from room to room. The brown-haired one explained that Valerie really really did not like it when someone tried to give away the puzzle, but she tried to drop them hints from time to time. "Gee, you sure aren't on the right track, are you? Right? Right?"

Another half hour passed as Tochi and Sepal, who eventually split up, tried every individual panel. Finally, a shout came from Sepal that Tochi heard through the thick walls. Sepal was in the bedroom ("No, you get here from the dining room, Tochi!") and it only took five more minutes of trial-and-error for Tochi to find his way.

"Here." Sepal tapped the ground next to the pad. "Go together?"

"Let's just go," Tochi begged. "Please?"

For the final time, they warped.

Valerie's room was, frankly, not as impressive as they would like it after warping around for half the day. It was big but almost entirely empty. At least the swirly carpet looked nice.

Valerie herself was another matter. She watched them as they approached, wearing a small, careless smile. They couldn't tell whether her arms were extended and draped in cloth, or whether she didn't have any arms at all, so she had sewn wings onto her back. And every time Tochi looked her into the eyes, he felt hypnotized, like...like...okay, enough eye contact.

"Hi," Sepal squeaked.

"My dears," Valerie hummed. "Thank you ever so much."

"For what?" Tochi asked timidly.

"For creating a path between our worlds!" Valerie brought her arms (oh) forward to touch her fingertips in a very Johto-esque bow. Apparently, Pokemon speak wasn't a problem for her. In fact - it was probably an illusion, but it almost sounded like she was speaking it herself. "I have always felt a connection with Pokemon. And you, kind ones, have forged a bridge than I never could, try as I might...the ability to be a Pokemon walking among the human realm, fluttering across the lands on fortunate winds, carving your fates into the yielding earth…"

Tochi and Sepal glanced at each other nervously.

"Oh...do forgive me," Valerie said. "I have been captivated by you...please, may I ask of you a battle?"

"Um, of course," Sepal said.

"My dears, I am truly grateful. Resilient Mawile, please show my everflowing gratitude to these young heroes…"

"Hi," Mawile said. "Val says thanks."

"Is she always like that?"

Mawile covered her mouth and giggled. "Of course. She's looney, but we love her."

"Maybe she's not looney," Sepal said in fascination. "Maybe she just...understands things." Clearly, he had found the Malva to his Tochi. Too bad Valerie wasn't a Grass- or Poison-type Trainer.

When Sepal didn't make a move, Tochi stepped forwards. "I'll fight."

"Cool beans!" Mawile said, and swung around to bite him in the shoulder.

"Ow!" Tochi pummeled the jaws with his fists, but they were locked down so tightly that the Mawile would probably only release him when she felt like it. He hit her one more time, paw clanging against the steel, and burst into flames.

The Mawile held on for as long as she could, but eventually she had to let go for fear of getting burnt. She shook her jaws back and forth like a ponytail, but she didn't seem offended - or particularly hurt. Instead, her body began to shine with a silvery coating.

Tochi Flame Charged at her, checking the ground for Grass Knots out of force of habit. But Mawile's hasty Iron Defense paid off. Tochi rammed into her face-first and almost broke something. The Mawile staggered back too, but she wasn't very damaged; she just laughed. Mawile snuck in two more Iron Defenses as Tochi was recovering.

"No physical attacks from me, huh?" Tochi warily got his Flame Charge up and running again.

"Maybe." She tilted her head. "You could find out!"

Instead, Tochi aimed his wand at her and fired a Fire Spin to trap her in place. It was just like the Jumpluff all over again. Why did the world have to conspire against his beloved Flame Charge?

He was expecting the battle to go similarly as last time - utilizing both the Fire Spin and the Flame Charge, Mawile couldn't touch him without burning herself - but Mawile surprised him. He was focused on aiming a stream of Embers when she burst out of a gap in the flames and knocked him backwards. Her body, which might as well have been a sack of pure steel bricks by this point, slammed into him and extinguished his flames. Then she bit him again.

"Feint Attack - can't miss!" Mawile said, a little too joyfully given the situation.

Tochi groaned. "Look, I've had enough experience with sadists in Gym battles, and I don't want to deal with one again."

"Oh, I'm not a sadist. Are you talking about Viola's Vivillon?"

Tochi punched her. It was time he tested out the TM - Power-Up-Punch - that Korrina had given him. At first, all he did was almost break his knuckles, but with every punch he could feel himself getting stronger, until he managed to push Mawile off of him. She attempted to use another Iron Defense, but she appeared to be at her limit.

"Ha!" Tochi grinned.

Mawile gave up and lunged for him - apparently ready to try the bite-until-it-stops-struggling tactic - but Tochi dodged. He ran forwards, firing Embers and Psybeams ahead of him, and hit the Fairy-type with a vengeance. As soon as his Flame Charge overshot her, he turned back and repeated the action, doubling across the arena to hit her again and again until she was left dizzily in the middle of the floor. Tochi extinguished his Flame Charge and walked over to her. He gave her a gentle nudge with the tip of his smoldering stick, and she keeled over.

Valerie blinked her owl-like eyes. "Mawile, return…"

Tochi turned to Sepal. "You want this one?"

"Go, my eldritch Mr. Mime…"

Sepal skittered back. "Nnnno, that's fine."

Tochi regarded his opponent. He frowned. "Uh...does anyone called you Ms. Mime, since you're a girl?"

Mr. Mime blinked.

"Just asking."

Mr. Mime raised her hands.

"Uh…"

Mr. Mime was trapped in a box.

"I don't…"

Mr. Mime could not get out of the box.

"Now you see why my fear isn't irrational!" Sepal whispered from where he was huddled in the corner.

Mr. Mime frowned. /I can hear you from here, you know, and I'm deeply offended by those overgeneralized accusations against my species!/ she scolded in perfectly fluent sign language.

"Be at peace, Mr. Mime…" Valerie soothed. "Show them the strange powers for which your species makes it name."

Apparently assuaged, Mr. Mime went back to fiddling around in her invisible box. She raised her hands, found the top two corners, and traced her hands downwards. A flickering pink wall appeared, stretched to the opposite ends of the gym, and vanished, leaving only an occasion shine in the fluorescent lights as a means of telling it was still there.

Suspiciously, Tochi raised his wand and fired a single Ember. The fireball made it through the wall, but it slowed down drastically. By the time it reached Mr. Mime, it was so slow that it harmlessly splashed against her chest.

"Light Screen," Tochi realized, just as Mr. Mime finished building a similar blue wall. "And Reflect?"

Mr. Mime said something else in sign language, which Tochi didn't understand, but it translated out to /Try and hit me now, sucker!/

Tochi attempted to charge through the walls, but they were somehow attached to Mr. Mime. As soon as he reached the Reflect, his entire body slowed down, and Mr. Mime used the opportunity to move the wall behind her. Of course, once the wall was moved, physics took back over. Tochi crashed into her, but only at half of his original force - after all, he was only half as far away. He did, however, managed to knock Mr. Mime backwards...straight back behind the safety of her wall.

"Well, this will be annoying," Tochi said.

He tried a couple of Psyshocks, just to see if the strange nature of the move could mess up the walls in some way. They were unaffected by the Reflect, but the Light Screen still slowed them down. They didn't hurt that much anyways - Psychic move against a Psychic Pokemon wasn't the greatest idea.

So Tochi was stuck with hurling fireballs at the Mr. Mime as he waited for one of the walls to give. The Mr. Mime kept him busy with bursts of psychic energy that hit him in the chest like fastballs. Tochi found it completely unfair that he was a Psychic in almost every way but type, and he still didn't get the beneficial resistance from Psychic-type attacks.

Finally, the Light Screen shone bright pink, then cracked in half and faded away. The Mr. Mime hastily went to work fixing it, but Tochi didn't give her the opportunity. He unleashed a barrage of Embers that flew unhindered and broke off her concentration. While Mr. Mime was pantomiming a reaction to a painful burn (or maybe she actually had been burned and was overdramatizing it) the other screen shone blue and died.

Tochi used the opportunity to bowl Mr. Mime over with a Power-Up-Punch-boosted Flame Charge. He tried to, anyways. The Mr. Mime still had some tricks up her sleeve; first, she blasted him with a blinding Dazzling Gleam, then picked him up and hurled him against the far wall with Psychic. Tochi was lucky not to land on the teleporting pad and get warped off somewhere.

Tochi ran back towards her as the Mr. Mime finished rebuilding Reflect. She made a big show of rubbing her arm - he had burned her, apparently - but she was more interested in building the second Light Screen than fighting. As she built the wall as fast as she could, Tochi had a free opportunity to fire as many Embers as possible.

Sepal, from his position in the corner, noted the poetry of Mr. Mime's great love of building invisible walls also being her greatest downfall. Tochi didn't really care. The important thing was that Mr. Mime couldn't take another hit once the Light Screen had been finished. The second her burned arm twinged, she was out for the count.

Valerie returned her as Tochi turned to Sepal. "I think you really will have to take this one. I don't think I have many more Embers left in me."

"All right." Sepal switched places.

"Go, my last Pokemon!" Valerie sang. "My diaphanous Sylveon!"

A Sylveon burst out of her - or, wait, his, sorry - Pokeball and gracefully floated to the ground, ribbons whipping around him. "Greetings!"

"Hi…" Sepal said. "What's it like belonging to Valerie?"

"Stimulating." He gave Sepal a look. Too late Sepal realized he was being Charmed, but he was too captivated to do anything about it. Sylveon were too cute to hit, anyways…

He managed to snap out of it when the Sylveon flashed white and fired a burst of Swift stars at him. Sepal staggered and Growled menacingly, but Sylveon only chuckled and launched more stars.

Sepal fired his own attack, Razor Leaf, and used its cover to run forwards under guise of a Double Edge. He knew he wouldn't be able to hit Sylveon as hard as normal, but his real purpose was a stealthy Leech Seed. As far as he could tell, it worked; Sylveon turned on him and flashed a Dazzling Gleam, blinding him, but he didn't see him try to brush the seeds to the ground.

Even if that failed, he had his secret weapon. He just wasn't sure when to unleash it.

Sylveon kept up a constant stream of Dazzling Gleam intercut with the sharp, familiar edges of Swift stars. Sepal was kept at a distance, flinging Razor Leaves all over the place. Tochi backed up, but Valerie, aside from covering her face with her sleeve, didn't seem concerned.

The Sylveon hit Sepal with a lucky shot that knocked him off his feet. Sepal used the opportunity to try and roll towards him, but Sylveon blasted more Fairy magic and sent him tumbling backwards. He was Poison-typed, so the Dazzling Gleams didn't hurt quite as much as they could have, though they still left spots in his eyes.

Finally, Sepal switched tactics and started firing Sweet Scent. After a couple of dosages, Sylveon swayed on the spot and began to deeply inhale. While he was distracted, Sepal switched his Sweet Scent out for Sleep Powder; by the time Sylveon noticed, he was asleep.

Sepal knew he had only a limited amount of time. He used Growth, surrounded Sylveon in a poisonous cloud, and sat down to fire Razor Leaves until Sylveon woke up and used Quick Attack to dodge out of the way. He was visibly scratched up, but not yet down.

Sylveon went back to his first strategy: blinding Sepal while peppering him with Swift. Sepal struggled, knowing that Leech Seed and Poison Powder would take over eventually, but that he would have to outlast Sylveon for that to happen. At this rate, it didn't seem likely. Sepal's one chance was to get up close.

He used Vine Whip. Although he blindly lashed around for a second, he was able to wrap around the Sylveon. Instead of flinging Sylveon against a far wall, he dropped Sylveon almost on top of him. It was easily to pretend that was an accident.

Sylveon pounced onto Sepal, pinning him down. His ribbons swirled as he charged up another Dazzling Gleam. At the same time, he gave Sepal such an intensely sorrowful Charm that Sepal felt his heart melting out of his chest, as if he would never again he able to use another physical attack.

So he used Sludge Bomb.

Sepal had never before had a special attack, so he greatly underestimated his skill with them. The attack splattered onto Sylveon, coating him with sizzling purple liquid. He staggered backwards as Sepal fired another Bomb at his feet to make him trip and fall.

Just like that, the battle was over. Sepal poured out every inch of Poison typing he had, and at some point it took its toll. Poor Valerie's carpet was an absolute mess. The sections that hadn't been burned down to the wood were half-disintegrated or stained purple.

At first, Sepal contributed his glowing warmth to his pride at using his new move. Then a cry from Tochi made him look down. White light was encircling his feet and rising up to encompass him.

He let it happen.

Suddenly, he felt a harsh jerk on his flower bud, which was slowly beginning to unfold. Sepal was at the stage where his vocal cords didn't work, but he looked over at Tochi. He was dragging him to a green teleporter pad as fast as he could.

"We gotta get out of here, Sepal!" Tochi yelled. "Once you evolve, you won't fit through the door!"

Oh.

~*Q*~

They made it just in time.

Sepal the Venusaur looked down at himself in wonder. The jump from Ivysaur to Venusaur was huge, literally. He had hardly grown a bit when he evolved from Bulbasaur, but this was ridiculous. Tochi could easily sit on his back and get carried around.

"How do you feel?" Tochi asked, speaking of which.

"Fine." His new voice made both of them jump. "Bigger."

"What else?"

"Flowery-er."

Behind them, the door creaked. Valerie exited the Gym.

"Congratulations," she said, giving Sepal a pat on the head. "That was remarkable. So rarely is the miracle of evolution witnessed."

Sepal sneezed. "Thanks."

Tochi had an 'I-don't-want-to-ask-for-my-badge-but-I-really-want-it-anyways' look on his face. Thankfully, Valerie noticed. "Oh! Do forgive me." She held her arm, hidden inside its sleeve, over Tochi's palm and gently shook it. A Fairy Badge dropped out.

Tochi and Sepal expressed their gratitude. Valeri accepted it graciously and went back inside her gym with a, "Best wishes, my young heroes!"

"I bet she doesn't have any trouble navigating in there," Tochi said with a hint of jealousy.

Sepal responded by stomping his foot on the ground. "Woah...Tochi, I bet I could even learn Earthquake now!"

"You wanna find the Center and rest for a bit?" Tochi asked.

"Soon," Sepal agreed. "But we need to find Bub."

"Bub! I don't think she expected us to take three hours."

"She'll still be there," Sepal said optimistically. "Wanna ride on my back?"

~*Q*~

If anyone told Bub that she was supposed to like the Laverre Nature Trail because she was a Water-type, she was going to be very offended.

There was lots of water on the ground, but not nice water. Not clean water. Not bright blue icy-cold-but-for-some-reason-it-doesn't-bother-you water. Not that she had ever gotten to experience the cold ocean, but liking it must be an Empoleon thing. She had recently been to Frost Cavern, though, so that counted for something. There was even a waterfall there, but Mister Edwin had only let her Surf on it for a few seconds.

Mister Edwin was currently seeking out a gold Ekans. As Trainers went, he wasn't really a good one. Soon, though, that wouldn't matter, because Tochi and Sepal were coming to rescue her...right?

"Bub!"

"Tochi!" she said joyously, forgetting to correct her name. She turned to see him on top of a Venusaur. "Sepal, that you?"

"Yep," Sepal answered. He was still feeling giddy. It barely even felt like he was carrying anything!

"We're here to get you away from here," Tochi said, sliding off of Sepal's back. "If we can, that is."

As luck would have it, that was the moment when Collector Edwin returned with a shiny Ekans tucked under one arm. He stopped, and the snake Pokemon very nearly wiggled free. "...Empoleon, do you know these Pokemon?"

"It's Bub!" Bub said angrily. "I mean, Bubbles! And yes. I do."

"That was rhetorical. Still can't understand you," Edwin replied. Bub sighed.

"Hi there, sir," Sepal said. "Can we take Bub with us?"

Edwin peered at him. "Did you...ask me where that Braixen's Trainer is?"

Tochi threw up his hands and left.

"Tochi, wa - never mind. No, sir. We want Bub."

"They're Tochi and Sepal," Bub added, a little desperately. "You know, the heroic Pokemon adventurers?"

"I'm coming back just for that," Tochi said approvingly from behind a tree.

"Can someone help me and stop standing there?" the gold Ekans yelled.

Edwin rubbed his temples. "Boy, I sure do love when a bunch of random Pokemon talk at me and I don't understand a word they're saying…"

Sepal realized it was up to him to be the diplomatic one. That was a scary thought. "Okay, okay. Everyone, stop talking."

Bub and Tochi fell silent. Sepal took a step forward, respectfully looking Collector Edwin in the eye, and used one his vines (good, he still had those) to point to the human's bag.

"Huh?" Edwin pulled a Pokeball out of the bag, quickly capturing the unfortunate shiny Ekans with it to free up his hands. "What do you want with it?"

"Trade," Sepal said simply.

Edwin seemed to understand. Trading Pokemon was a language he knew well. "Okay. What for what?"

Sepal pointed to Bub.

"Something for Empoleon?"

Nod.

"Well, what do you want for it?"

"Her," Bub said in a long-suffering tone of voice.

Sepal hesitated. He hadn't thought this very far ahead. "Tochi, come here, I need the bag."

Tochi came over, and they dumped their stuff on the ground. There really wasn't much - old berries, the remnants of a leaf bag, their badges and money - but after careful deliberation, Tochi and Sepal presented their two TMs - Power-Up Punch and Sludge Bomb - to him as well as Alexa's EXP Share.

Collector Edwin just laughed. "I can buy that stuff in stores. Why would I trade a shiny for it?"

Sepal added their money to the pile.

"No dice."

"How about we steal Bub's Pokeball and kick you in the face?" Tochi asked angrily.

"Everyone will find out about it," Sepal reminded him. "We're kind of famous."

"That's it!" Bub waved to get their attention. With the spikes on the ends of her flippers, she impaled a piece of paper in Tochi and Sepal's trash pile and held it up for Edwin to see. It was the photo that the human Hartley had given them, along with his group of reporters.

Edwin squinted. "That's from the news article about the Bulbasaur and the Fennekin, or the Braixen or whatever. They're traveling the region, and a big fuss is being ma - oh." Edwin looked up at the Braixen and Venusaur. "Oh. You two."

"Yes," Sepal said.

Edwin seemed to reconsider. Helping famous people = becoming famous, and becoming famous usually = becoming super rich. His decision was also influenced by the Braixen menacingly twirling his wand.

"Fine." Edwin dug his Empoleon's Dive Ball out of his bag and tossed it to them. "Mention me in the papers, will ya?"

"Will do," Sepal glowed. "Thanks!"

Edwin scooped up all of Sepal's money and their EXP Share as an afterthought, cast Bub a longing look, then trudged away through the muck, muttering "I only used it for Surfing, anyways…"

"There goes our stuff." Tochi started putting the remainder back into their back.

Bub squealed and attempted to hug Sepal. With no hands, it didn't work very well. "I'm free! Thank you thank you!"

"Uh huh," Tochi said. "Want to break the Pokeball?" He indicated Bub's Dive Ball, which he was about to place in the bag.

Bub's face scrunched up. "Nah. I don't want to be captured again."

Sepal nodded. "Good choice, I have my Friend Ball in there."

"So what now?" Bub asked without missing a beat. She was flapping her wings in a way that suggested she would have been jumping up and down if they weren't in a swamp. "Did you beat Valerie? Where are we going?"

"Anistar City," Tochi said. "We beat Valerie, yeah. So we should get moving."

"He really wants to evolve," Sepal confided.

"Sepal!"

"Really wants to."

"Okay! Let's move, let's move!" The shiny Empoleon tried to skip ahead, fell on her face, and resorted to scooting herself along on her belly, which was surprisingly efficient up until the marshy ground dried out.

Sepal and Tochi shared a glance. It was official - Bub was along for the ride.

~*Q*~

 **A/N: New teammate! And only six badges in, too! Wow!**

 **47,667 words have been written, and there are eight chapters left - and eight days left in November, coincidentally. See why getting out two chapters today was so important? Anyways, Thanksgiving break is coming up too, and buckets of free time along with it! I might actually do this, guys!**

 **Review if you wish! After writing for twelve hours, I'd really appreciate it!**


	20. When Kindergarten Teachers Attack

**A/N: This chapter is late because of the weeeeird production schedule. There are sort of three parts to this chapter and the next one (Route 16, Route 17, and Anistar City) and trying to figure out how to split them up confused me a lot. And I also procrastinated, etc etc. Anyways, this chapter is short, but Route 17 and Anistar are together in the next chapter for a nice long one!**

 **~*Q*~**

Bub thought she knew the way through the next route, but she sorely misjudged the distance from Laverre to Dendemille. Perspective was a funny thing when you compared a flight on a Pidgeot to a walk on foot. The road would take them at least as long as it had taken to go from Camphrier to Cyllage.

However, after talking to a couple of native Pokemon, they learned about a shortcut. Route 16, or Melancolie Path, went straight from Lumiose to Dendemille. It was still a long walk, of course - it might take them a day or two - but it was vastly preferable to going down Brun Way. They spent an hour backtracking to Lumiose for the third time, then went on their way.

Melancolie Path was similar to what they had seen of Route 15. It had a cool and crisp air to it. The ground was littered with orangey autumn leaves, and Pokemon nestled into grass that went up to Tochi's head. (Not Bub's or Sepal's, though.) The route was more devoid of Trainers than most places were; most of them preferred the straight run to Dendemille rather than going back to Lumiose. The humans also tended to like leaping out of leaf piles and scaring them out of their wits.

The best part of the long walk was that it gave Tochi and Sepal time to get to know Bub. It wasn't easy; she was more interested in talking about them.

"It's just - so _cool!"_ Bub said for the millionth time. "You guys are like superheroes!"

"We try not to think about it," Tochi said.

"What about you, Bub?" Sepal pressed.

"What what about me?"

"...Huh?"

"What?"

"How's your life going?" Tochi cut in.

"Oh, that's fine," Bub said.

"Any likes or dislikes we should know?'

"Not really."

"Criminal records?"

"Nope."

"Crippling phobias?"

Bub scrunched up her face. She did that a lot. "Well, I don't know about _crippling,_ but I don't like warm weather."

"I like sitting in the sunshine," Sepal offered.

"Eh. No thanks!"

The other thing about Bub: she was flighty - ironically for a flightless bird - and she talked a lot. _A lot._ And Tochi had thought he was the motormouth out of him and Sepal.

"Please be quiet," Tochi said after about an hour. It had started raining, so he had insisted on them taking shelter in a gloomy old abandoned building. None of them had any idea why a broken-down building was in the middle of a route, but they didn't feel like complaining.

"Sorry!" Bub apologized. "It just feels weird sitting here doing nothing..."

"'Brevity is the soul of wit,'" Sepal quoted.

"Why wouldn't you want to fill up space with a conversation?"

Tochi rolled his eyes. "I don't think anything you've said qualifies as a conversation."

"Okay." Bub sat very still and watched a mini Pumpkaboo float around, her body gleaming like two headlights. "Hey, do you think Pumpkaboo are secretly part Fire-type?"

"Never mind!"

Tochi set out as soon as the storm ended. Sepal thought that he just wasn't willing to be stuck in there with Bub.

"How's it feel to be fully evolved?" Bub asked Sepal, once Tochi had made it clear that he wasn't going to entertain any more "conversation."

"Fine."

"It was weird for me. But maybe not that weird. Being a Prinplup kind of felt like it was preparing me, you know?"

"Like how you get a little bigger and stronger, but not _too_ much bigger and stronger?" Sepal asked.

"Exactly!"

"Hey," Tochi said suddenly. He was ahead of them, so he had to walk backwards so he could talk face-to-face. "Sepal, you're a Venusaur now."

"I noticed."

"You can use your Mega Stone!"

"Mega Stone?" Bub repeated, as Tochi drew it out of the bag. "Wow! One of my old Trainers had tons of those!"

"We don't think he needs the other thing, the Mega Ring, for it to work," Tochi explained. "Maybe just the stone. Here." He clambered on top of Sepal and placed the stone in the center of his giant tree/flower. The center had ridges around it, ensuring that the stone wouldn't roll to the ground.

"What do I do?" Sepal asked.

"Uh...just believe really hard?"

"...It's not working."

"Try battling!" Bub offered.

"Nah," Sepal decided. "I'll just keep it there and hope it works."

"If you say so." Tochi, who was still walking backwards, tripped suddenly. Bub giggled as he scrambled to his feet, but Sepal looked alarmed.

"Tochi, check your shadow."

"Uh oh." Tochi scanned the ground. The sun was peeking out of the clouds to the west, but his shadow was curving strangely behind a boulder. "Oh _no."_

"What?" Bub asked.

"Waaaaaaaaa!"

It was Shana's Wobbuffet. He hopped out from a behind a large rock and gave them a perky salute, though his face was grim and almost angry. He tilted his hand to point up at the sky. Some kind of bird Pokemon was circling lower.

"Miss Shana," Sepal said. "We have to move!"

"Uh - " Tochi tried to yank his feet forward, but it was like he was tied to a steel rope. "I can't!"

"Miss Shana's after you again?!" Bub said frantically.

The bird Pokemon, a Togekiss, alighted on the ground. Miss Shana hopped off with a cheerful, "Thank you, Smooches!" Smooches did not seem to really love his name.

"Hello there!" Miss Shana greeted them smilingly.

Bub's eyes darted nervously back and forth as Tochi slumped against the boulder and refused to look at her at all. Sepal got into a scuffle with the Wobbuffet as he tried to attach Leech Seeds and Poison Powders to him.

Shana's grin turned into a frown. "Well, aren't we sad little munchkins today?"

No answer.

"Are you ready to go home?"

No answer.

"Tochi, sweetie, would you give me that bag?"

No answer.

"I'm gonna count to te -"

"Do we look like human preschoolers to you?" Sepal burst out. "Look at us! We're Pokemon, for Arceus' sake! Fully-grown Pokemon! Bub and I are fully evolved! I'm nearly _seven feet tall!_ If we were humans, there would be _no way_ for you to keep us without being filed for false imprisonment! I don't know where you went to Pokemon School, lady, but they need to be _fired! You_ need to be fired! From everything!"

Everyone stared at him.

"Sorry," Sepal added.

Miss Shana rubbed her temples. Maybe whatever Wobbuffet did to translate their speech was affecting her head as well. "Look, sweeties, I'm just trying to do what's right. Human laws just don't apply to Pokemon."

"You sort of suck at that," Tochi said.

"Miss Shana?" Wobbuffet interrupted.

"Yes, Wubsy?"

"I feel -" Sepal's Leech Seed drained him away, and Wobbuffet fainted.

"Oh my goodness!" Shana fussed around in her pink purse. She finally held up a Great Ball and, upon recalling him, looked around. The starters were long gone.

"Oh dear…"

Tochi, Sepal, and Bub ran as fast as they could. In Bub's case, that was not very, and she quickly fell towards the back of the group; meanwhile, Sepal shook the earth with every step.

Smooches the Togekiss fell level with them, barely skimming the ground. Miss Shana was riding on him. Her main goal was Tochi - he clung to the bag containing Sepal's and Bub's Pokeballs. Shana threw a Quick Ball at him, but Sepal blocked it with a vine and growled angrily.

Shana grimaced and reached for her purse one-handed. With the other, she clung to Smooches' feathers. "Jubilance! Pestilence!" she called, and a Granbull and Butterfree burst out of their Pokeballs.

The Granbull wasted no time in charging for Tochi, but both Sepal and Bub intercepted her - Sepal with a Sludge Bomb, and Bub with a vicious Flash Cannon. The Butterfree opened his wings wide and sprinkled down waves of Stun Spore, but Sepal left the Granbull to Bub and took care of that too; he meant to use Razor Leaf, but an entire swirling cloud of petals erupted around him and whipped the spores into the wind. Tochi helped with the rest by setting the Petal Dance on fire. Smooches was forced to dodge the fireballs by rolling hard to the left; Shana nearly tumbled off his back.

The ground rocked underneath them as Jubilance the Granbull used Earthquake. Since Jubilance was only about as fast as Bub, she was closest to her, so Bub got the brunt of the attack; with a cry, she tumbled to the ground. Jubilance set on her with Play Rough, but Sepal neared them enough for his flaming Petal Dance to make her back off. Bub was left behind as she recovered, but at least her Pokeball was protected - for the moment, keeping Tochi and the bag safe was most important.

Bub understood that too. "I'll catch up!" she called faintly.

Jubilance couldn't keep up with them, despite her scary looks. Even if she could, the fire kept her away. Pestilence realized this and stopped harassing Tochi long enough to flap his wings and generate a Tailwind that blew her forward and sent the petals flying out of whack. Unable to attack with the Tailwind going on, Pestilence soared up high so he could keep the support uninterrupted. Jubilance caught up to Tochi, but with both he and Sepal hitting her with Sludge Bomb and Psybeam from both sides, it didn't take long for her to faint.

Miss Shana returned Jubilance and desperately sent out her next Pokemon. "Corona!" she called as a Seaking appeared. Corona immediately flopped to the ground.

Not for long, though. She created an enormous Surfing wave that swept her forward onto the crest. Corona pointed with her stubby fins and guided the wave towards Sepal and Tochi. Sepal's Petal Dance went out with a hiss. It had been going on for so long that he was forced to cancel it anyways; he was in danger of getting confused.

The tidal wave rejuvenated Bub. Empoleon were _fast_ swimmers, and she was no exception. She sped through the wall of water and knocked Corona back onto the ground as she burst through the other side of the wave. For a split second Bub was soaring over Sepal's and Tochi's heads; she was about to drop when she remembered Aqua Jet out of the blue. As the water coated her in a Flame Charge-esque shield, she sped up exponentially and found herself able to control her path through the air. Bub let out a cheer and swooped to the left, aiming for Smooches and Shana with the intent of knocking them to the ground, but she felt a harsh thud from behind - Corona had wiggled her way into Bub's Aqua Jet stream, and the two of them started fighting for control within the bubble, veering off course.

Now the only one of Shana's Pokemon close to Tochi was Pestilence, who let his Tailwind die down when he realized no one was in need of it. He flapped down to dump Stun Spore on Tochi, but the Braixen lit his stick on fire and waved it above his head. "Try me!" he snapped. Pestilence swerved away.

Miss Shana only had one Pokemon left. "Hula-Hoop!"

A Bellossom burst out of her ball and immediately fell behind the chase. She struggled to catch up, her grass skirt tangling around her legs, but she was quickly left in the dust. "Miss Shanaaaaaaaaa!"

Something in addition to Tailwind was needed. It didn't take Shana long to remember Hula's ability, Chlorophyll. "Pestilence! Sunny Day!"

"Aye-aye!" Pestilence beat his wings even harder. The sun grew so bright that it burned the remnants of the storm away and filled the air with intense light. Inside the Aqua Jet, Corona faltered, and Bub managed to punt her away.

Then Sepal felt a rush of energy.

His own Ability, Chlorophyll, activated for the first time. A surge of speed filled his limbs until he felt like he could outrun a horde of Ninjask. Behind him, Shana's Bellossom experienced the same rush, but her legs were just too short to take advantage; Sepal, however, was able to grab Tochi, deposit him on his back, and run like the wind. Outspeeding everything but Bub in her Aqua Jet, he raced through the autumn leaves until Smooches and Miss Shana were far in the distance.

Sepal didn't stop until the Sunny Day flickered away. Dead on his feet, the Venusaur slid to a halt. He figured he had just gotten them through about an hour of their travel time in just a few minutes.

Tochi slid dizzily off his back. "Sepal, that was amazing!"

"Yeah…" Sepal shook his head. "I think...I need to rest."

"I don't think we can." Bub regrouped with them, letting her Aqua Jet splash to the ground. She had left a soaking wet trail behind her for at least the past half mile. "Miss Shana might catch up again!"

"We just fainted half her team," Tochi estimated. "We can take it slow as she finds a Pokemon Center, at least."

"G'job, team…" Sepal trudged ahead wearily. He was too tired to wait for them or even look where he was going. Miraculously, his Mega Stone was still rolling around where Tochi had placed it.

Tochi and Bub watched. "He sure fought hard," Bub remarked, awed.

"Says the one who flooded half of Route 16," Tochi said good-naturedly. "Let's go."

~*Q*~

The weather got colder. Tochi barely noticed, being a Fire-type, and he was perfectly happy to tromp along and melt the frost under his feet. Bub actually preferred the cold weather - her typing was even perfectly suited to help her ignore it, although her Water-type attacks tended to freeze around the edges. Sepal, on the other hand…

"Oh, no," he said staring at chilly Dendemille Town in horror. "Do we have to stay here for the night?"

Tochi sighed. "Sepal, it's the only town for miles. Here to Anistar is a five-day hike."

"Through snow!" Bub added. "Really, really deep snow."

"Why are you happy about that?" Sepal asked, then sneezed.

"Well, I'm not," Tochi said. "I don't mind the cold, but I think it's messing up my evolution."

"Maybe you're so focused on staying warm that you can't evolve," Sepal said, with a hint of sarcasm.

"Sounds about right." In truth, he just needed a moment to calm down and not accidentally press the metaphorical B-Button. The last few battles he had fought were too hectic for him to notice.

"Are we going into the Pokemon Center?" Bub asked, peering in through one of the windows. "It looks warmer in there, Sepal!"

"Good!" Sepal practically rushed the doors.

The addition of Bub confused the humans huddled inside, but after a few seconds they recognized the Braixen and ex-Ivysaur traveling on their whispered excitedly, and someone took a picture.

"Hey, does that mean I'm famous too?' Bub asked eagerly.

Tochi shrugged. "Keep dreaming."

Nurse Joy immediately recognized that the lobby was too cold for Sepal and directed them to a room. Sepal was too big for the bed, so he curled up on the floor. Bub took the bathtub.

Tochi was left on the bed by himself. "Maybe Route 17 won't be so bad…"

"Riiiight."

"Hey, I'm trying to be an optimist here."

Sepal shifted, trying to get comfortable on the cold floor. "If crossing a freezing mountain turns out better than you expect, let me know."

~*Q*~

 **A/N: Okay, well, relatively short. I'm getting long-winded here.**

 **Shana's team was fun to come up with. The only one without a nickname is Wobbuffet, who is called cutesy things (Wobbles, Woobsy) depending on Shana's mood.**

 **Review, please! It helps a LOT!**

 **~*Akirys*~**


	21. Yaaaaaaaaawn

**A/N: And here's the Gym chapter! Little bit crazy, but I hope you enjoy!**

"Fine! It's really, really awful!" Tochi shouted over the howling winds. Loose snow whirled around him and stuck to his fur. Tochi's fire could barely keep it at bay.

It was a blessing in disguise that Sepal had evolved first. Tochi rode on his back (this was becoming a trend); the Braixen was just too short to wade through the snow. Sepal played the role of Mamoswine - who had refused to carry them across because they weren't Trainers, _by the way -_ and tramped through snow that was borderline physically painful. Bub was the only one having any semblance of fun. She slid around on her stomach, occasionally crashing into boulders or getting buried by snowdrifts.

"This is the worst route," Sepal shivered. " _The worst route."_

Tochi kicked snow off of his back. "Yeah, I'd say so."

"Ahoy there!" somebody shouted. Startled, Bub skidded off course and ran over a Delibird.

It was Campbell. He waved at them from on top of a frozen rock, looking warm and comfortable, despite his only protection being slightly thicker fur than usual.

"Campbell?" Tochi repeated, squinting through the blizzard. "How'd you get here?"

"I flew. And then it got too cold, so I racked my brains for Cotton Guard." Campbell indicated his fur. "I know Flame Charge, too, so I've been using that every once in a while."

"Does that work?" Tochi burst into flames as a test. He was immediately warmer, of course, but Sepal irritably bucked him into the snow.

"Quit using Fire-type moves on top of the Grass-type!"

"Sorry! It worked for Petal Dance."

Bub stuck her head out of a snowdrift. "Do we know you?"

Campbell saluted. "The name's Campbell. I met up with Tochi and Sepal there back in Camphrier."

"He's out collecting moves," Sepal explained.

Campbell squinted at Bub. "I've never met an Empoleon, actually. What moves do ya got?"

"Surf, Yawn, Drill Peck -"

"Haven't sketched that one!" Campbell hopped off his perch. "Lemme see."

Bub demonstrated as Tochi picked himself out of the snow. She had better control over her Drill Peck than she did as a Piplup, though not by much. Campbell didn't seem to mind. His dark green tailed flashed white. "And that's number five hundred and twenty-seven! I think we'll get along fine. What's your name?"

"Her name's Bub!" Tochi jumped in.

"It's _Bubbles!"_

"Nice you meet you, Bub."

The Empoleon gave Tochi a look. He just grinned in response.

Travel was no less difficult but a lot more fun with Campbell along for the ride. He practiced Fire moves along with Tochi ("seriously, why do you have Blast Burn when I don't?") and interrogated random Sneasel - he still needed Snatch, he explained. Bub slipped and slid around like she was in a water park. As for Sepal, he kept miserably marching along.

At nights - and they spent at least four of them camping out on Route 17 - Tochi and Campbell built rings of fire and melted as much snow as they could in a twenty-foot circle. There was no way to keep a campfire lit overnight, with the wind and the neverending snow, but adding Tochi's unburnable stick to the blaze helped, even if Tochi insisted on sleeping practically on top of the fire to keep his stick from blowing away. In the morning, all of them were covered with icicles and buried under snowdrifts. It was a wonder any humans could cross the place, really; maybe the Mamoswine had some shortcuts they weren't telling anyone about.

"Campbell, couldn't you just Fly us the rest of the way?" Sepal begged eventually.

Campbell frowned. "I think a Venusaur, a Steel-type, and Tochi would be too heavy for me to carry even with Strength. 'Sides, we're only about ten minutes from Anistar, from what I can tell!"

"He's right," Bub realized, standing up off her stomach for the first time in five days. "The snow's getting thinner!"

And it was. By the time they reached the gate, the ground was clear, even though a light snow continued to fall.

Anistar was the most beautiful city any of them had ever seen - mostly due to the fact that they had been in the mountains for almost a week. The four of them went straight to the Pokemon Center to warm up. As usual, several humans recognized them, but only Bub waved back.

They let the nurse heal them with her little machine; Sepal did the honors of breaking Campbell's temporary Pokeball as well as Tochi's. Afterwards, they took a break in one of the Center's hotel rooms.

"Sorry to rush right before your battle, but I'm off to find some moves," Campbell said. "Er, that reminds me: Sepal, how you feeling? About Olympia?"

"Oh." Sepal had been so sick of the cold that he'd forgotten about the Psychics. "Pretty scared, I guess…"

"It's the whole being-submitted-to-Psychic-attacks idea now, not the fact that Psychics exist," Tochi explained. "But I'll be there for him."

"Bub?" Sepal called. Bub was off playing with the taps in the bathroom.

"It's Bubbles!" She stuck her head into the room. "Yeah?"

"How do you feel about taking a big role in the next Gym battle?"

"Cool!" she grinned, then ducked back out of sight.

"...She's okay with it," Tochi decided.

"I see the appeal, but battles have never really appealed to me," Campbell said thoughtfully. "Guess I'm more of a contest fellow."

"Sure you don't wanna watch us?" asked Tochi.

Campbell shook his head, glancing at Sepal. "I've heard some things about Olympia's gym. Don't think I'd wanna go inside."

"Oh," Sepal said. "Great."

"Nothing that bad!" the Smeargle said hastily. "Just different."

Sepal didn't look reassured. "Let's go before I change my mind."

~*Q*~

Bub, Sepal, and Tochi looked at the gym from the outside.

"Something feels...odd," Tochi remarked. "Psychic-y."

"Well, that's reassuring," Sepal said.

"Probably nothing to worry about!" Bub stomped around until the sliding doors activated and led them inside.

"Sick, man!" the Gym Guide said upon spotting them. "Hey, my brother called me and said our brother told our brother told our brother told our brother told our brother to tell him you were coming!"

"...How many what now?" Bub asked.

"Chill. Don't let me stop you." The human gestured at the Gym's interior, which took the form of...a room. A plain, tiny room, really, with no Trainers or Gym leaders in sight.

"This is _definitely_ not all of it," Tochi said, ears pricked. "I may not be a Psychic-type yet, but even I can feel the energy in this place."

Curiously, Bub stepped towards the center of the room.

Tochi zeroed in on a design in the middle of the carpet. "Wait, it's coming fro -"

The second Bub stepped on the insignia, reality shattered around them. Tochi and Bub gasped, and Sepal screamed outright as the walls fractured and spun away into nothingness. Suddenly, they were left on a tiny square of ground as the rest of the world distorted into a huge globe-shaped void. It was studded with constellations like the night sky, while glowing, layered catwalks formed around them.

"It's like...a snowglobe," Tochi said in awe.

"Make it stop!" Sepal panicked, squeezing his eyes shut.

Tochi touched his head. "Hey, it's okay. Stay with me."

Bub was already up ahead, testing the glowing catwalks' weight. "Hey, guys!" she called, stepping on a yellow square. Before she could continue, the square teleported her away.

Tochi glanced at Sepal. "Valerie flashbacks?"

"Valerie flashbacks."

They caught up with Bub. She had already antagonized a Gym Trainer into battling. His Exeggutor hopped from foot to foot as it blasted out Psychics and was mercilessly beaten with Drill Peck.

"Bub!" Tochi called. "Can I take over?"

"U-um, s-s-sure!" The Drill Peck made her voice vibrate.

Tochi stepped forward and expertly knocked out the Exeggutor with a barrage of Embers; the narrow path made it nearly impossible to dodge. The Trainer recalled his Pokemon grudgingly, and Tochi waited. He had a good feeling…

Sure enough, the white light started to form around his ankles. Sepal and Bub looked at each other and back up to give him room.

Tochi felt himself getting taller. Extra fur grew around him, turning him into a carpet. When the light died, Tochi the Delphox stood in the middle of the Anistar City Gym.

"Awesome!" Bub squealed, clapping her flippers together. "How do you feel?"

"I -" Tochi collapsed.

Sepal, who had been hanging back nervously, rushed to his side. Tochi's eyes, flickering with pink light, opened. "...Sorry," he managed. "There's...there's a lot of energy going on in this gym. Now that I'm a Psychic too, it's...kind of hard to take in."

"Take your time."

Eventually, Tochi stood up, rubbing his new giant ears in discomfort. He was still the shortest of the group, not even topping five feet, but it was unlikely that Sepal could carry him around with as much ease. The first thing Tochi did was reach into his sleeve and pull out his new-and-improved wand. He examined it and smiled. "This'll do."

"You look pretty!" Bub commented.

"'Pretty?'"

"Absolutely."

"...Well, I'm going to be a Delphox for the rest of my life, so I might as well get used to that," Tochi sighed.

"Are you okay to keep going?" asked Sepal.

"My ears are ringing, but it's fine. I want to see what Olympia has to offer."

~*Q*~

Bub handled the rest of the Trainers they ran into. Sepal had a type disadvantage, and Tochi's attacks just blew up in his face. The mystic maze ball arena seemed to be messing with him.

The starters stepped onto another yellow teleporter. What they weren't expecting was to be deposited straight in front of Olympia. They jumped, but the Psychic Gym Leader merely regarded them coolly.

Tochi looked at the others, then stepped forwards himself. "Hi...We're here to challenge you." Olympia kept staring. Tochi broke eye contact.

"Young challengers determined to change the world's fate," she said finally, in a low, musical voice. She swept her cloak forwards, and a Pokeball appeared and arced to the ground in slow motion. "The battle begins!"

In an equally controlled manner, the Pokeball burst open, revealing a Sigilyph. After a quick debate, Bub stepped forwards.

"I accept your challenge!" she announced, a bit too grandly.

Bub stared the Sigilyph in the eye - she thought she was, anyways. The Pokemon constantly jittered up and down, so her entire body looked like it was winking or looking in different directions. Bub settled on staring at a fixed spot - the black thing on top of her green ball thing - before she went cross-eyed.

Olympia didn't command her Pokemon, merely gestured for her to move.

Sigilyph flashed a dozen different colors, making Bub raise a wing to shield her eyes. The light coalesced in front of Sigilyph, settling into a smooth pink shield before flickering into invisibility.

"Light Screen," muttered Tochi. "Where have I seen _that_ before."

The Sigilyph went straight to work on a similar Reflect, but Bub didn't want to give her the opportunity. Remembering the success of the previous battle against Miss Shana, Bub formed an Aqua Jet around herself and body-slammed the Sigilyph head on. Through the watery coating, the flickering Sigilyph appeared a blurry, colorful mess.

After pinning the Sigilyph to the floor, she wasn't actually sure what to do. So Bub went the simple route and and Drill Pecked her in the face(?) over and over. The Sigilyph thrashed around until Bub missed and got her beak caught in the glowing floor. As she struggled to pull it free, the Avianoid Pokemon pelted her with Psychics until she wiggled away.

As Bub attempted to use Aqua Jet again, Sigilyph caught on to her strategy. She used Psychic to control Bub's trajectory and veer her into the ground. The Aqua Jet lost its form and rained off the catwalk and out into empty space.

Sigilyph's attempts to use Psychic directly on Bub were met with a Whirlpool that swept Sigilyph in circles until she was too dizzy to fly. Bub stood back and fired powerful Flash Cannons that were nonetheless dampened by Sigilyph's Light Screen. Still, the second the Whirlpool died out and Sigilyph looked like she was shaking away her unsteadiness, Bub leaped forwards to Drill Peck her into unconsciousness.

Tochi nodded approvingly. "Nice."

"That was pretty easy," beamed Bub, puffing her chest out slightly. "Next?"

Without a word, Olympia recalled the fallen Sigilyph and sent out a Slowking - a female one, though, so whatever she wanted to be called. It was like that Mr. Mime was haunting them all the way from Laverre.

Slowking blinked at Bub. "Hello there."

"Hi!"

"You're tired, aren't you?"

Bub frowned. "No, um...not really…"

"I bet you are. I bet you just wanna sleep."

"...no…"

"Oh yes. In fact…" Slowking's face twitched.

Bub covered her ears. "Oh no you d -"

Before she could finish, Slowking let loose an earsplitting yawn that made Bub's eyes droop. Two could play at that game, though. The shiny Empoleon Yawned right back. Slowking actually seemed pleased for an excuse to sleep. The two Water-types swiped halfheartedly for a few seconds before their exhaustion overcame them.

Olympia, Tochi, and Sepal stared at the "battle." Neither Pokemon was showing signs of waking up. Tochi started to tap his foot impatiently.

"That's it," he said finally. "I'm going out there."

" _Water-_ type, Tochi," Sepal reminded him.

"She's asleep. I'll hurry."

Sepal dragged Bub off of the battlefield with his vines as Tochi went straight to work. Close proximity to Olympia had somewhat numbed his sensitivity to the Psychic environment, so, as he'd thought, his moves were just about back to working order. He held his stick in front of him and attempted to use Psyshock, but something unusual happened - instead of Psychic energy, Ghost-type energy formed into a ball and solidly thwapped the sleeping Pokemon on the head.

"I know Shadow Ball?" Tochi said, amazed. "Delphox _rock!"_

He used his free opportunity to stand there and shoot Shadows Balls over and over. Slowking slept through it all. She slept for so long that Tochi eventually started trying out new moves just to alleviate the monotony. He tried to use Fire Spin, but like before, the move warped; by waving his stick in a circle, a particularly hot fire flew forward in a perfect loop. He inherently knew the move was called Mystical Fire. And it was awesome.

Finally, Slowking stirred herself awake. She looked around dreamily, only to be hit in the head with a Future Sight that Tochi had cast a minute or two ago. "Wh - hey! All...all right...you asked for it..."

Her head glowed. Slowking faced Tochi's direction and assaulted him with Power Gem, a stream of artificial, reddish rocks. Most of them hit Tochi, making him stumble backwards, but it felt like an edge had been taken off of the attack. The Mystical Fire hadn't burned Slowking, exactly, but instead left a lingering heat of sorts that sapped the energy from her long-range attacks.

Slowking settled back. Tochi thought she was about to fall asleep again, but she radiated a gentle glow as she appear to meditate. It was Calm Mind, and Tochi only realized this when he hit her with a Shadow Ball and watched it dissipate against her stomach. Then Slowking exhaled calmly and unleashed a storm of Power Gem that almost sent him toppling into the abyss below.

The battle was suddenly a lot more difficult. Slowking didn't use any Water-type attacks, but Power Gem did the trick anyways. Tochi had to rack his brain to avoid get buried in a rockslide. Remembering the technique Mr. Mime and Sigilyph used, he used the tip of his stick to trace a glowing wall in midair. He had never tried a Light Screen before, but to his surprise he pulled it off on the first try. The Power Gems slowed considerably when they slammed into the screen; it didn't stop them from hitting, but it was good enough.

Physical attacks were the way to go, but neither Psyshock nor Flame Charge would do much good. Still, Tochi waited for an opportunity and set up a Future Sight as he continued to dodge the Power Gem onslaught. A minute later, as Slowking reeled from the attack, he rushed in with Flame Charge and battered her with Psyshock - that one was a nasty combination because of Tochi's sudden prowess with Special moves.

The Power Gem nearly did him in, but in the end Tochi's earlier barrage of Shadows Balls finally caught up with the Slowking. Halfway through charging up a massive Power Gem boulder, her endurance simply reached its limit. Slowking just dropped her arms and dozen off; the spectators waited for a minute to make sure she hadn't just Yawned on herself.

"Huh?" Bub mumbled, jolting awake. "Did we win?"

"Nah," Tochi said, steeling what was left of his stamina. "One Pokemon left."

"Wait," Sepal said.

"Huh?"

"I...can I fight?"

Tochi's arms dropped to his sides. "You? I - I mean, are you sure?"

"I'm sure," Sepal said, none too confidently. "I don't know if I told Professor Sycamore and not you, but...well, my dad had a history with Olympia's Meowstic. So...if it's okay...I just want to try."

"Family bonds strengthen the greatest of gaps; courage runs in the blood," Olympia murmured, startling them. They had all but forgotten she was there.

"If you're positive, then I believe in you, Sepal," Tochi said, and backed out of the way. "Go for it."

Sepal stepped forward, trembling.

The Meowstic was small, lithe, and almost cute, but she still looked deadly. Her eyes suggested that she knew more about Sepal than most would at first glance.

"I heard you talking from inside my Pokeball," Meowstic said. "Did I fight your dad?" Oh.

"Y-yeah," Sepal squeaked.

Meowstic studied the Venusaur. "Hey, are you all right? I mean, I don't see many Poison-types around here, but…"

"Stage fright," Tochi said briefly. "He's got this."

"Is that so?" Without warning, Meowstic whipped forward and used Fake Out, clapping her paws over the tip of his nose. To be honest, the move would have had the same flinching effect if the cat Pokemon had clapped from the farthest corner of the catwalk. A Sepal jerked back, she used the time to breathe deeply, mimicking the Slowking's Calm Mind from earlier.

"You saw what Slowking did, Sepal!" Bub encouraged. "Just make it _your_ strategy to mess up _their_ strategy!"

Sepal was feeling jittery and rushed. Instead of aiming for Poison Powder or Growth as usual, he went straight into a Petal Dance and charged. He was afraid to give the Psychic-type a second of spare time to attack.

The powerful Petal Dance swept Meowstic off her feet, and a horde of sharp (yet fragrant) petals cut into her side. Still, for Sepal, it ended all too soon. The constant swirling made him dizzy, and he shut the petals down as soon as he felt the warning signs towards confusion and switched to using Razor Leaf. Razor Leaf still hurt, but it was far easier to dodge. Meowstic backed up to try and use Calm Mind again, but Sepal recklessly ran forwards and Double Edge-d her.

"Ouch," Meowstic winced, leaping out of the way as Sepal turned and tried to run her over again - Sepal's evolved form was big but not very agile. Meowstic landed lightly on the other side of the platform. Sepal skidded a halt and opened fire on her with Razor Leaf, but the Meowstic got the idea of using Psychic to turn the leaves away from her. At the same time, she charged up two Shadow Balls and sent them flying into Sepal. Sepal blocked one of them with his vines.

Meowstic launched a bolt of pure Psychic energy at him. He blocked that too, but he could feel the attack resonate up his vines and throughout his body. Sepal's heart was racing. That...hadn't actually been that bad.

It had the same burn as a Flying- or Fire-type move did; painful, but not life-ending. Heck, those five days he spent wading through nothing but snow? That hurt _way_ more than a Psychic. There were no other ill effects. It just...kinda hurt.

Sepal froze, then started giggling.

"...Sepal?" Tochi asked.

The Meowstic put her paws on her hips. "Miss Olympia, I think we broke him."

Sepal cleared his head and used Petal Dance again, twice as powerful as before. The Meowstic tried to control the petals with Psychic, but Sepal replaced the ones she pulled out of orbit so that hundreds of petal soon spun around him, while dozens more littered the ground. They flew so thick and fast that the Meowstic's attacks were shredded. Sepal just stood there, one foot on Meowstic, as she was caught in the center of the storm. Even when the spinning petals thoroughly Confused him, he crossed his eyes but stayed in place, keeping the Petal Dance going.

"Sepal!" Tochi called urgently, but Sepal was too confused to hear him. "Sepal, move!"

While weathering the storm, Meowstic used Calm Mind for a minute straight, raising her defenses enough so she could practically ignore the flurry of petals. She was still trapped by Sepal, but she raised her ears and bombarded him with Psychic blasts, which he ignored, even though he was drastically weakening.

Psychic met Petal Dance and sent it whirling out of control. Tochi had to intervene, burning the petals away as they collected in huge piles. Olympia had her eyes closed. Apparently, petal overload was not incredibly unusual for her.

When Tochi cleared the field, Sepal had fainted. Meowstic was just barely staggering to her feet.

"Oh, for goodness' sake," Tochi said, and hit her clear off the catwalk with Flame Charge.

Olympia recalled her and held out the Psychic Badge without a word.

Tochi accepted it absently. "Bub, could you get Sepal?"

"No matter, I can warp you back to the entrance," Olympia said. "Would you like to go?"

"Yeah, thanks," Tochi said. Olympia raised her arms, and the patterns of her cloak swirled. There was a bright flash of light, then darkness.

~*Q*~

Sepal woke up on a floor. He looked around at his surroundings: their room in the Anistar Pokemon Center. "Did...was I out for that long?"

"Yeah," Tochi admitted. He sat on his knees on the bed. Bub lay on the floor near them, propping her head up on her wings.

Sepal closed his eyes. "Psychic, right?"

"A lot of it."

"And I'm okay."

"Yeah."

"Okay."

"Is that it?" Tochi asked. "You're not scared?"

"I think…" Sepal shrugged. "Not really. I don't know why, but…"

"You did awesome, though!" Bub piped up. "You would've won if you weren't confused."

"We won, though, right?" Sepal asked.

"Yeah!" Bub said. "And then we got you back to the Center. There were all kinds of people out there, though. They sorta freaked when they saw that you had fainted."

"Very newsworthy," explained Tochi.

Sepal got to his feet. He felt great - the Nurse Joy here must have done her thing. "Well, the only thing to do now is get to Snowbelle."

Tochi was surprised. "Really? I mean, I'm all for it, but -"

"Come on, Tochi!" Sepal said with a grin. "You just evolved! We only have one badge till the Elite Four!"

"Already?" Bub bounced to her feet. "I wish I had been with you guys for longer!"

Tochi relaxed. He had been expecting something worse from Sepal - a freakout, a revenge quest, something. But Sepal had made his peace.

"Then let's get out of here. At least the next route won't be in a blizzard."

~*Q*~

 **A/N: Fun fact: Olympia speaks entirely in haikus in the games (just count her syllables), which makes my job that much more difficult. Thanks, Olympia.**

 **Also, during Slowking vs Bub, I** ** _swear I am not lying_** **when I say that while I was writing that scene, I yawned a lot, and then fell asleep for ten minutes. I was just that tired. Curse you, psychological effects of Pokemon!**

 **Oh yeah, and Tochi evolved or something.**

 **~*Akirys*~**


	22. He's Happy

**A/N: This chapter was one incredibly long one before I split it into two! They take place at approximately the same time, though - the second one is a "Meanwhile" gym battle, it'll make sense in a second - so keep in mind that they'll probably read best one after the other.**

~*Q*~

It wasn't snowing, but it was raining. Bub was ecstatic, Sepal was disappointed, and Tochi was livid.

"Is there _any_ kind of weather you don't like?" he grumped to Bub, who was off on a tangent about bathtubs.

"Sunlight," Bub confided. "Too sticky."

"Better not follow me around, then," Sepal advised.

Tochi was still getting used to his evolution. As he walked, he swished his fur around and practically whipping his wand out from his sleeve. He discovered that lighting the wand on fire and staring at the flame caused him to see little hallucinations which he claimed were visions of the future, though the others were skeptical.

Route 18 was not as long as Route 17, and not nearly as cold, but they still spent a full six crossing it. Half of that time was spent battling wild Pokemon. According to Tochi, they had to put in some _serious_ training if they wanted a chance at beating the Elite Four.

The rain died down. Tochi only became more determined. He appointed Sepal the Official Sweet Scent Setter so that hordes of Durant could be fought at once. While Tochi trained and generally antagonized half the Durant population in Kalos, Sepal and Bub sat off to the side for a break.

"It's because he's a Delphox now," Sepal told Bub. "You know how he wants to join Malva's team? Now that he's fully evolved, I think he's worried that he doesn't have any more room to improve."

"Huh." Bub was on her back looking at the sky - she was always either lying down or bouncing around, it seemed. "That's respectable, actually."

Sepal looked at the Empoleon in surprise. "You think so?"

"I don't really have a goal," Bub admitted. "You guys are cool, and Kalos is cool. But after we've beat the Elite Four -"

"If?"

"After." Bub nudged him. "C'mon, we won't _not."_

"Okay. Hypothetically." Sepal was an optimist, but even he didn't want to get his hopes up. "Then what?"

"Well, Tochi'll be with Malva. You'll be being awesome somewhere. What will I do?"

"Good question."

"It's like - I joined you guys because it was better than being passed around like a trophy. After this is done, what'll I do? Just go back to being a trophy? And I can't go back to the Vaniville Starter Center…"

"Maybe we _can_ ," Sepal said thoughtfully. "But not to be given to Trainers. We'd be a little much to handle for a nine-year-old."

Bub giggled. "Yeah."

"Are you Sepal?" someone interrupted.

They looked up. A crowd of nervous-looking Trainers that had been traversing the route were watching them.

Sepal stood up. It was kind of fun to be able to tower over the tiny humans whenever he felt like it. "Yes. Hi."

"I'll assume that's a yes," the lead Trainer muttered. "Is, uh, is Tochi around?"

Sepal pointed. They could probably figure out where he was on their own using the trail of grumpy, fainted Durant as a clue.

"Oh. We were wondering, do you wanna, um, battle?" The Trainer pulled a crumpled newspaper out of his jacket. Sepal recognized the picture on the cover as one taken during their post-Coumarine interview. "We read about you here, and then we heard you guys were in Anistar...so, we thought it would be kinda cool to...yeah…"

"Sure!" Bub sprang to her feet. "I'd love to take you on!"

They looked surprised - they hadn't been acknowledging the random not-famous Empoleon - but the Trainer shrugged anyways. "Um, I'm assuming that's a yes too? Go, Staraptor!"

~*Q*~

Tochi joined them after he ran out of Durant. Battling actual Trainers was surprisingly fun; for the first time, no one seemed inclined to throw Pokeballs at them when their guards went down, not even after Bub was paralyzed while fighting an Ampharos.

Finally, after Tochi was taken down by an Abomasnow with Sheer Cold, they left to find the Pokemon Center in the nearest city, Couriway.

"I think it's getting colder," Sepal remarked as he waited with Bub for Tochi to finish getting healed. The two of them took up a big portion of the Center lobby, so they had to squish in the corner. Sepal slipped the Friend and Dive Balls inside their bag and placed it on a chair.

"Hooray!"

"Not hooray."

"What Sepal said," said Tochi, emerging from his Pokeball. "What are you talking about?"

"Cold weather."

Tochi absently burnt the Pokeball between his paws. "I just want to get going."

"Right now?" Sepal said incredulously.

"Snowbelle won't be so bad if we beat the Gym fast, right?" He tugged them along; it took extra effort now to fit Sepal through the doorway.

"Yeah!" Bub declared. "Besides, don't you wanna get the last badge?"

"I never said I _didn't,"_ Sepal said, but Tochi and Bub were already making a break for Route 19. He sighed. "What is it with them?"

The bag was left on the chair behind him.

~*Q*~

Grandée Vallee Way, or Route 19, was almost just like Route 18, except it was partially a valley. It was also very grand.

It wasn't raining any more, but it was damp and made Tochi irritable. When night fell and Sepal suggested taking a rest, Tochi objected strongly.

"I slept out in the snow for five nights; that wasn't so bad," Sepal reasoned.

"But if we just keep walking, we could probably make it before dawn!"

" _Barely!"_

"I'm tired," Bub put in, looking up at them from the ground, "sooo…"

Tochi seemed to be considering something. "What if I just went on without you and met you there in the morning?"

"Split up?" Bub repeated. "No way!"

"Besides, you have our stuff," Sepal repeated. Then his eyes widened. "The bag! Where is it?"

"Um -"

"This it?" Bub rolled over to something half-hidden under a bush.

"It must have fallen off," Tochi said, taking it back. He watched the bush, frowning, as he slipped the bag back onto his shoulder. "...Hey, you guys didn't just see anything, did you?"

"No."

"Nope!"

Tochi looked at the others, then at the rest of the dark, rainy route. "Well...yeah, I'll stay for the night," he said uneasily. He lit his wand on fire and propped it up in the dirt. The small flame gave them some comfort.

"'Night," Sepal said, curling up more tightly. He was hugely relieved that they weren't separating, though he didn't say it out loud.

~*Q*~

They woke up early the morning and arrived at Snowbelle in the afternoon. The drizzle turned from rain to sleet to a light snow.

"I wish Kalos would make up its mind," Sepal grimaced. The rainwater had frozen to ice on top of his back, as if carrying a giant flower around wasn't heavy enough.

"Gym!" Bub said excitedly, pulling the others along.

Sepal could swear the weather was getting colder the closer they got to the center of town. He started shivering harder. Random passersby noticed them and called out encouragement for their final Gym battle, but Sepal barely noticed.

In front of the Snowbelle City Gym, the Gym guide leaned against the wall - he wasn't cold, at least. He noticed the three of them and gave them a wave. "You're here! I was waiting for you three. My brother called me and said our brother told our brother told our brother told our brother told our brother told our brother to tell him you were coming!"

"Please tell me that's all the brothers you have," said Tochi.

"Yo, you don't look so good." The Gym guide looked at Sepal. "Cold?"

"Very."

"Whatever you said, you sure look it. You know, there's a legend around here that the town is so cold _because_ of the Gym. Not only is it half made outta ice, but it's got the collection of the toughest Ice-types in Kalos."

Sepal looked at the door, which exuded frost like it would freeze the first person to approach it. He made a decision. "...Guys, I don't think I can go in there."

"It's not so bad!" Bub cried, at the same time that Tochi blurted, " _What?_ Sepal, you made it through Olympia and everything! You can't skimp out on us now!"

"I'm not!" Sepal said, cutting him off. "I just don't think it would be a good idea for me to stay in there _and_ get hit by Ice-type attacks half the time. Like, if I sit there in the cold, battling'll be difficult enough as it is. And then if I faint, I might get seriously hurt because I've already been half-frozen."

Tochi and Bub glanced at each other.

"I'm not _not_ battling," Sepal reassured. "But I need to wait out here until you guys switch me in."

"That makes _sense,_ but…"

"It's that or put me in a Pokeball."

Tochi had a nasty image of him wearing a hat like a Trainer's and throwing a Pokeball into an arena. "Definitely not."

Bub did her armless hug thing to Sepal. "We'll miss you!"

"I'm not going anywhere," Sepal said.

"Still."

"So, you're staying here or something?" the Gym guide asked Sepal as the others went into the Gym. "Uh, okay…"

At least the inside of the Gym was gorgeous. It was made up of colorful, patterned squares that glowed from under four inches of clear ice. The entire place was _coated_ in ice, actually, as if the Gym was intentionally trying to freeze whoever stepped inside. Tochi's feet slipped over the ground, so he had to melt the ground slightly to regain purchase. Now he was standing in a puddle of cold water.

Bub took a running leap and skidded on her stomach all the way across the Gym, bumping over dips and hills in the puzzle that were probably meant to keep people from going over them (not that they did much good). She was almost going faster than the eye could follow. That must have meant it hurt when she crashed into the opposite wall.

Even from across the Gym, Tochi heard the Gym Leader - Wulfric?- roar with laughter. "Good one!"

Well, nothing to do but catch up. Tochi was too anxious to battle to take his time over the icy floor, so he ended up either melting or slipping over a good percentage of his path before he reached the first puzzle - a row of pink squares with buttons scattered across the floor. It gave him brain freeze just looking at it, so, wondering if Bub had any more patience for puzzles than he did, he called "Hey, B -"

 _Poof!_

It felt like a weight suddenly lifted off his shoulder. Tochi looked down. He didn't see anything, not even his bag - there was just a faint curl of smoke drifting away.

"Did I leave my bag with Sepal?" Tochi asked himself, chalking the smoke up to some kind of Fire-type malfunction. He shook his head. "Well, whatever…"

~*Q*~

The Gym guide went inside to watch Tochi's and Bub's battle, so Sepal was left on his own.

It would have been nice and peaceful if it weren't for the freezing cold. The Venusaur stood there awaiting his friends, occasionally stomping his feet to keep the feeling in them. At least there wasn't any two-foot-high snow this time around.

Occasionally, Trainers or random humans would shyly approach and try to talk to him. He patiently nodded along, but he didn't bother trying to talk - bringing up the language barrier was more of a hassle than he was willing to deal with for the moment.

Eventually, they got used to the sight of a random semi-celebrity and left him alone. The humans were all gravitating indoors to escape the growing darkness. Barely past afternoon, and the sun was setting? He really was getting sick of cold weather.

Sepal was so lost in thought that when the flash of red light came, he was completely taken by surprise. Something zapped the ground by his feet. A little more to the left and the beam would have stricken him; he even recognized it as the red light of a Pokeball. But how? To catch a Pokemon for first time, the ball actually had to make contact with him or her - you couldn't just aim the beam from afar, that only worked on an already-captured Pokemon with their own Pokeball. Sepal had his Friend Ball, of course, but it was in his bag…

He looked for the source of the light.

It was Miss Shana. She had his bag slung over her shoulder and Sepal's Pokeball in her hand.

She aimed the Friend Ball again. Sepal barely had time to throw up a cloud of Stun Spore and scramble to the side. The spores refracted the light so he was missed by inches.

"Sepal…" Miss Shana walked down the stairs leading to the Gym, trying to get a closer shot. There were no Pokemon guarding her. "You didn't tell me you had a Pokeball already!"

Sepal turned to run and almost tripped over Wobbuffet, who was blocking the doors to the Gym. The Psychic-type gave him a salute.

"I found your bag left in Couriway," Shana continued. "You can't get to Victory Road without your badges, huh? So I had my Smooches make a Substitute of it for dear Tochi to hold. And that was all well and good, but we didn't know you had Pokeballs inside! Goodness, that was a surprise!"

"Please leave me alone," Sepal said calmly, though his heart was racing. He had already stealth-seeded Wobbuffet, but something was different this time around. The blue Pokemon gripped what looked like an apple core in his hand/flipper/limb. Something about it - its scent, maybe? - was keeping the Wobbuffet rejuvenated.

"Oh, that little thing is called a Leftovers," Miss Shana said cheerfully when she noticed where Sepal was looking. "Poor ol' Buffy and I got tired of him fainting all the time...you can't Leech Seed your way out of this, sweetie."

She was now close enough so that Sepal doubted he would be able to dodge another recall. He filled the air with Stun Spore anyways, clouding him from view. If Miss Shana was afraid of getting paralyzed, she didn't let on.

"Miss Shana, please listen to me for one second," Sepal said quietly.

To his surprise, she relaxed her posture slightly. "Oh, of course, honey. Is something wrong?"

"You are."

"Well, that's not a nice thing to say."

"I know. I'm not done yet." Sepal took a deep breath. "I think - I don't think you quite understand us."

"We'll have lots of time to chat in the Starter Center…"

"That's what I mean! You don't really care about our opinion."

"Pokemon should have a say in things, but not _every_ thing," Miss Shana said, a little more firmly.

"So you're trying to treat us like your children, but in the end we're just Pokemon, is that it?"

"Well...yes."

Sensing that he had made her uncomfortable, Sepal moved on. "Like I said before, we might be Pokemon, but that doesn't mean we're little kids."

"Yes, it does!" Shana blurted. Her hand tightened around the Pokeball, and Sepal tensed. "You're immature. You're supposed to be under my protection, and you just - run away?"

"What we did was wrong," Sepal said slowly. "At least, it was against the rules. I know that. Still, it's too late for us to go back."

"No, it's not. I'm trying to take you back."

"Shana," Sepal said, "if we're like kids, doesn't that mean we have to grow up sometime?"

"I -"

"I'm happy. Isn't that enough?"

"No!"

"What if I can prove that we don't _need_ protecting?" Sepal asked, voice rising. "That I just carried my best friend through a snowstorm? That I just got over my worst fear? That I'm finally happy _with myself?"_

Something on Sepal's back sparked.

Mega Evolution felt like fulfillment. Sepal was suddenly encompassed in light, but he wasn't afraid. Not of anything. The Mega Stone he carried with him seemed to be melting into his back like fire.

Miss Shana dropped the bag when the light died and Mega Venusaur stood before her.

"If you took me back to the center, could I do this?" Sepal asked.

Shana could barely speak. "But...you don't have a Trainer…"

"I don't need one."

He reached out a vine and very gently used Knock Off to brush the ball from her hand. She was too stunned to react.

"I'm happy. Please leave us alone."

Miss Shana recalled Wobbuffet and left without hesitation.

"Uh, Sepal?" Tochi called from somewhere within the Gym. "Bub fainted! We need you!"

Sepal the Mega Venusaur was happy to oblige.

~*Q*~

 **A/N: Mega Evolution! Sepal has become a 'mon he can be proud of and all that!**

 **Now go and read the second chapter, which details what Tochi and Bub were up to. Will the starters beat the Gym and get to the Elite 4? Will I finish this story before December? Stay tuned!**

 **~*Akirys*~**


	23. Wulfric Turns Up The Heat (not really)

**A/N: Part two of two. I actually kinda really like this battle. And I also have a new respect for Wulfric...that's happening with a lot of these Gym leaders, actually. I guess you don't know someone until you walk two moons in his shoes, or until you try actually writing their dialogue in a fanfic.**

~*Q*~

Meanwhile, a short time before, Tochi was still trying to solve the Gym puzzle.

Bub was already standing next to Wulfric. "Tochi, hurry up!"

"I'm _trying!"_ He stepped on another button, and the entire floor rotated. Surprisingly, this time it lined up enough to give him a clear pathway to the Gym Leader. "Hey, I think I got it. On my way."

Rotating floor sections was actually not a terrible idea for a Gym. Awfully tedious, though, and Tochi didn't even want to think about the work it took to get it into place.

"Welcome!" Wulfric boomed. "Took a while to get through my Gym, didja?"

"Thanks for rubbing it in."

"Aw, no problem. Happy to help."

"Do you understand us?" Bub asked, surprised.

"'Course! If I didn't know my Pokemon stuff, I wouldn't be the top ranking Gym Leader in Kalos. Speaking of which -" Wulfric tossed a Pokeball into the air - "let's make this a good one!"

An Abomasnow materialized, and both Tochi and Bub scrambled backwards before it landed on top of them. Tochi waved Bub away and pulled out his wand. "I've got this!"

As Abomasnow touched the ground, storm clouds formed overhead. It started to hail, and Bub had to back up even further to avoid getting hit. Tochi could only brace himself.

Wulfric scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Abomasnow - Ice Beam!"

Abomasnow opened his mouth and unleashed a frozen beam of energy. Tochi countered with one of his most recently learned moves: Flamethower. The moves crashed into each other, but the fiery attack quickly overpowered the Ice Beam. The maneuver produced a hissing cloud of steam and water that weakened the Flamethrower greatly. By the time it hit Abomasnow, the Pokemon was able to stand it with relative ease.

Wulfric ordered his Pokemon to use Ice Beam again, and Tochi tried a new tactic: Flame Charge. However, it didn't work out like he wanted - the shield didn't block the Ice Beam from hitting, but it did melt it into something like a freezing Hydro Pump with chunks of ice mixed into it, which was even less fun to be hit by. Tochi shivered as his fur started immediately freezing in the cold Gym, and it took him a bit to start his Flame Charge up once more. Abomasnow looked pleased at finally getting one up on a Fire-type.

Cloaked in flames once more, Tochi charged at Abomasnow, but both the Ice/Grass-type and his Trainer knew that he wouldn't be able to take more than a few hits from Tochi. Abomasnow fired Ice Beams, most of which melted in proximity to the Delphox and turned into deadly blasts of cold water. He was able to avoid all but two of them due to the Speed Boost. His fire was almost out by the time he tackled Abomasnow and sent them both to the ground, but Tochi hastily shot a few point-blank Mystical Fires into Abomasnow's face before getting thrown off. The hail continued to fall, stinging Tochi's arms and head.

Abomasnow attempted another Ice Beam, but those Mystical Fires had messed with his attacks. One hit Tochi's side, but it was more akin to a Water Gun than anything, and Tochi evaporated it quickly.

"Abomasnow, Plan B!" Wulfric ordered. "Ice Shard!"

Suddenly, along with the hail, large and razor-sharp shards of ice were pelting him from behind. To keep the shards from turning into Water Shurikens, Tochi didn't reactivate his Flame Charge, but he decided it was the perfect time to use an attack he had been looking forward to learning for a long time.

He raised his wand. " _Psychic!"_

There were two variations to Psychic: the pick-you-up-and-throw-you-across-the-room kind and the pure-undiluted-energy-blasts kind. Tochi hadn't gotten total control over his new move yet; he had meant to use the latter, but he aimed his stick a little too high and accidentally hurled Abomasnow into the air using nothing but his mind. Oops. At least it looked cool.

Still, Tochi could work with it. He twirled his stick and used the other end to hit Abomasnow - who was like a sitting duck - with Flamethrower. The Pokemon fainted upon hitting the ground.

"Ha! Return, Abomasnow!" Wulfric recalled him and sent out a Cryogonal without preamble.

"Can I fight now?" Bub asked.

"Please do." Tochi switched places with her and starting trying to dry off his fur.

Bub bounced into the arena. She was so excited, her shininess was making her sparkle. "Hi!" she told Cryogonal gleefully. "I'm go -"

Cryogonal flashed brightly. At first, Bub thought it was imitating and/or mocking her, but then it produced silvery wisps that started to snake around her. Huh, there was something mind-boggling about this attack. Maybe it was the way the light reflected off of all the ice. Or maybe it was really...it was so...so…

"Oh, great," Tochi said, as the Confuse Ray took effect.

Wulfric nodded approvingly. "Flash Cannon!"

Bub, wandering around in circles, barely noticed the attack hit. It spurred her into using her own Flash Cannon, though, which missed entirely and reflected against the wall to hit Bub in the eye. She shook her head vaguely.

"Bub!" Tochi warned. She just blew bubbles.

The Hail died down, so Cryogonal took a moment to restart it. The sharp pellets popped her randomly-aimed Bubble attack, which at least seemed to annoy Bub. She formed a Whirlpool and hit the Cryogonal with it through sheer luck. It flitted around inside, trying to pull itself out of the current.

"Freeze it!" Wulfric called.

It did so. The Whirlpool became a huge chunk of ice, but Wulfric miscalculated; his Pokemon was no longer being hurt by the attack, but it accidentally froze itself inside. It started hacking away with Flash Cannon frantically.

Meanwhile, after hitting herself in the face a few more times, Bub snapped out of confusion. She looked around, puzzled, then spotted Cryogonal and seemed to reorient herself. Bub conjured up a huge Surf wave and rode on top of it inside an Aqua Jet. Seconds after it broke itself free and buzzed with triumph, Cryogonal was smacked into the wall by Bub and about a swimming pool's worth of water.

Cryogonal peeled itself off of the wall slowly. Bub gave it a second, then Flash Cannoned it into the wall again. Angrily, Cryogonal used Ice Beam. It didn't damage her much, but the attack froze all the water on Bub and turned her into an ice sculpture.

The Crystallizing Pokemon attempted to get off the wall again, but it was stuck fast. Tugging frantically, Cryogonal soon realized that it had been soaking wet, and its own Ice Beam had flash-frozen it as well.

The next few minutes were spent waiting for the ice to melt for both Pokemon. It was a very slow process. The hail died away, but Cryogonal didn't bother to set it up again.

Finally, an Aqua Jet caused Bub to explosively thaw out, with chips of ice flying everywhere. Cryogonal realized what was coming and wiggled frantically, but it didn't escape in time to avoid a gigantic Flash Cannon. It fainted and fell on the floor face-first.

"Heh. Cryogonal, you tried." Wulfric recalled his second Pokemon.

His final one was an Avalugg who looked Bub over and snorted derisively.

"Oh yeah?" Bub stepped forward. "Well -"

"Wait," Tochi interrupted. "Can I take this one, give you a chance to rest?"

"I don't need to rest," Bub tried, but Tochi looked at her imploringly. "Fine. You take it."

Tochi took her place. A bit selfish, but he wanted the honor of defeating the very last Pokemon of the very last Gym Leader. It meant more to him than it did to Bub, anyways, since he had been collecting badges for longer.

Avalugg looked him over. He seemed more respectful of Tochi than he did of Bub, at least. He closed his eyes, and a red, ghostly light illuminated his whole body - Curse.

Tochi used Flamethrower yet again. The Avalugg used Avalanche in return. Chunks of ice formed from midair and crashed down on Tochi. They didn't hurt as much as, say, a Rock Slide, but their combined weight sent him to the ground. Meanwhile, the Avalugg kept on Cursing.

Tochi burst into flames, melting the ice away enough for him to shrug the projectiles off of him, and charged at Avalugg. That was his biggest mistake. The Curses had raised his defense so much that Tochi bounced off. As he groaned and held his shoulder in pain, Avalugg lunged forward and Crunched him in the side - a critical hit.

It was also Tochi's first experience with a supereffective Dark-type attack. The experience was not a pleasant one.

Tochi nearly blacked out right there, but he switched his stick to his not-screaming-with-pain arm and burned Avalugg's face with Flamethrower, causing the Ice-type to bellow and let go of his side. Tochi scrambled away, slipped on the melting Avalanche pile, and collapsed in a pile of freezing slush.

" _Now_ can I take over?" Bub asked, hiding her worry.

"Yeah…" Tochi dragged himself to the sidelines. He was still clutching his arm. "Dude, that _hurts."_

Bub glared at Avalugg, who had used his moment of free time to Curse even more. She almost used Aqua Jet on him, but, remembering that his defense was probably through the roof, stuck to Surf instead. The Avalugg stood stiffly against the wall of water and didn't budge an inch. That is, until he chose to take a step forward.

Bub kept throwing Flash Cannons and Surfs at him, but the Avalugg kept coming at her. He was as slow as a rock (not even a Rock-type; just a rock) but he seemed to be ignoring Bub's attacks through sheer force of will.

"All right, you asked for it!" Bub said.

She concentrated. A tiny ball of water appeared in her hands. The idea was that it was super-concentrated and would explode into an enormously powerful torrent of water as soon as she released it. She wasn't sure, though. She had never pulled off a Hydro Cannon.

Avalugg was still shambling towards her. She backed up as far as she could and unleashed the blast...but she aimed too high.

The jet of water, two feet across and more forceful than a firehose, exploded forwards and just _barely_ skimmed over the flat-topped Avalugg. Wulfric had to hit the floor as the water carved a trench in the wall behind him. Avalugg ended up stinging slightly, but otherwise the biggest side effect was the way his back gleamed like a thoroughly-mopped tile floor.

Bub was out of water and too exhausted to try a second attack. The Avalugg finally finished his long journey towards the other end of the Gym and rammed into her. He was basically a gigantic block of concrete at this point, and Bub was unable to fight back as he put a spin in his attack and ended up using Gyro Ball. Avalugg spun so fast that the icy floor cracked and wedged Bub into it. She had recovered enough to frantically try to pull herself out of the crevice, but Avalugg Crunched her so viciously that Bub stopped struggling long enough to yelp - she may have been neutral to the attack, but Tochi hadn't been exaggerating. The Avalugg finished off by tumbling into the fissure himself and squashing Bub under all of his one thousand one hundred thirteen point three pounds.

"Bub?" Tochi called. Avalugg clambered out of the pit and revealed Bub to be out cold.

Avalugg smirked at him. Tochi was at such low health that everything in him screamed to not have to go back out onto the field. There was only one Pokemon who could handle the Avalugg.

"Bub, I'm gonna go get Sepal."

~*Q*~

Sepal walked through the Gym and took his place on the battlefield.

Tochi was too busy trying to pull Bub out of her crater to look at him (while they weren't anywhere near Avaluggs, Empoleon weren't the lightest things out there either). Something about Sepal's footfalls sounded different...heavier. Tochi turned to look at Sepal. He was so stunned, he let go of Bub and almost dropped her on his foot.

"Hi," said Sepal.

"Sepal - you - you -"

Bub opened her eyes, looked at Sepal, groaned, and shut them again.

Sepal could feel the cold air swirling around him, but it was strange...it didn't affect him like he thought it would. He felt so bulky and powerful, it was as if he transcended type advantages. He looked down at the Avalugg serenely. He dwarfed him by over a foot.

Avalugg stomped his feet and caused an Avalanche to tumble down over Sepal's back. The ice chunks stung, but they slid off of his now-humongous flower and bounced to the ground.

Sepal stood five feet from Avalugg, eyed him as the Ice-type created endless Avalanches to try and slow him down. Sepal took a breath and spat out a monstrous Sludge Bomb. Avalugg went down. And that was all it took.

The Gym circuit was complete.

"Ha!" Wulfric was beaming as he recalled Avalugg. He didn't seem to care that his Gym was covered with slush, craters, and acid. "Completely outstanding! You've earned the Iceberg Badge without a doubt."

He respectfully placed the badge on the flower insignia on Sepal's new Mega-evolved head. Sepal nodded his thanks and turned to leave.

Both Tochi and Bub were staring at him with starry-eyed and absolutely flabbergasted expressions. Sepal just gave them a smile.

"Oh my gosh! _Sepal!"_

"But - you - _what?!'_

"I'll explain." At that point, Sepal's energy ran out. He de-evolved, and all that was left was a slightly shell-shocked Venusaur in the middle of a very, very cold gym.

"But, uh, c-can we go someplace warmer first?"

~*Q*~

 **A/N: Although Tochi is louder and more brash, I feel like Sepal has received more character development out of the two - Bub, being introduced so late, can't really contend. Sorry, Bub. Anyways, that's a thing I'll put on my regrets list (not everything can turn out perfect when you have to rush a story like this).**

 **But hopefully you all can look past the imperfections. Review, please!**

 **~*Akirys*~**


	24. Road to Victory

**A/N: Still on schedule! We can do this! Review, guys! ENCOURAGE ME!**

 **~*Q*~**

"Say what now?"

"Miss Shana almost captured me, then I Mega Evolved, then she left."

Bub still looked confused.

Tochi sighed. "She's not going to get it. _I_ barely get it, Sepal."

"Think how I feel," Sepal said wryly.

"No, I'm not - I'm just surprised!" Tochi said hastily. "I'm _so happy_ for you, Sepal! You evolved! That's _amazing!_ I just don't understand what went on with Miss Shana."

"Shana is the kind of person who tries making life better for others, but she thinks she knows what's best for everyone," Sepal said thoughtfully. "She's stubborn, is all."

"Well, I still hate her."

"You never could let go of a grudge."

Bub kicked her webbed feet in the air. She and Sepal were lying down on the floor of their room in the Snowbelle Pokemon Center while Tochi sat cross-legged on the bed. They had managed to escape to the solitude of the room after being mobbed by excited people in the street. Someone had caught Sepal Mega Evolving, apparently. Of course.

"So," Bub said. "We've gotten all the Gym Badges."

"Technically, Sepal and I got all of them. You got the last two."

"Close enough!" Bub insisted. "Show me?"

Tochi opened up the bag - which he was now reluctant to let out of his sight - and brought out their badges. Bug, Cliff, Voltage, Rumble, Plant, Fairy, Psychic, and Iceberg. It was just unbelievable.

"I can't believe it," Sepal echoed.

"We did it," agreed Tochi. "If only the others back at the Pokemon Center could see us."

"They're probably too busy on their own journey," Bub remarked.

"I need sleep," Sepal decided, turning away from the conversation slightly. "I need to think about...what just happened. And how I was able to evolve."

"It was clearly the power of love," Tochi said sarcastically.

"Love of who?" Bub asked. "Us?"

"Maybe love of me?" Sepal suggested.

"Too narcissistic."

"No, I mean - oh, that does sound narcissistic. I'm wondering if me getting over my fear had something to do with it."

"Trainers evolve their Pokemon because they're happy with each other," mused Tochi. "Maybe you were just happy with yourself."

"Cheesy." Sepal closed his eyes, but he was smiling. "Good night."

"I won't be able to sleep," Tochi confessed, curling up on the covers. Bub left to sleep in the bathtub as usual. " _Victory Road,_ Sepal!"

"I know, Tochi...but talk later. I've already had enough excitement for one day."

~*Q*~

They departed the next morning, and the walk from Snowbelle to the gates of Victory Road was either short or just entirely unmemorable. The starters were buzzing with both enthusiasm and fear.

More Trainers than ever were practically mugging them as they walked. Some wanted to battle, others just congratulated them. A few even gave them items.

"It's the TM for Earthquake," a girl said proudly, pressing the disc into Tochi's hand. "Venusaur can learn it, yeah?"

"Um…" Sepal glanced at it. "Thanks."

"Can you tamper with a TM?" Tochi asked nervously. "What if she's sabotaging us?"

"You're just jealous because no one got you Overheat," Bub said cheerfully.

Bub was getting recognized more as well. Her shininess probably helped matters. Somehow, they dug up her name, and now, as well has Tochi and Sepal's name, Trainers were waving and calling out "Hey there, Bub!"

"It's _Bubbles!"_

They nervously reached the Victory Road gate. It was just like they remembered from all the way before they had their first badge: a regal hallway. It seemed a lot smaller than it had before, though. Evolution changed your perspective like that.

The same Trainer was guarding the gates. He noticed Tochi, Sepal, and Bub and smiled. "Look at that, I remember you two! And I see you have a friend as well."

"Hi!" said Bub.

"I assume you want to pass into Victory Road? Well, pretend the media isn't going nuts over your trip through Snowbelle, and show me the proof of your strength."

Tochi stepped forwards and dug through his bag. Carefully, he pulled out the eight badges and showed them to the Trainer two at a time.

"Wonderful. But that's not your only test. You'll have to battle me next!" They backed up as he released a Carbink.

"I'll take it," said Sepal.

The Carbink looked at him lazily and scattered small, pointed rocks into the air. They vanished from sight almost immediately. Stealth Rocks, maybe?

Sepal closed his eyes and started storing energy. His back started to glow, and Carbink seemed to panic. It began blasting him with Moonblast and Stone Edge - because he resisted them, Sepal shrugged the moves off. He then unleashed a Solarbeam that blinded the Carbink and threw it to the ground. As it recovered, Sepal used Synthesis, healing a lot of the damage Carbink had inflicted.

Carbink looked a little stuck for ideas. It kept using Moonblast, but it succumbed when Sepal used Petal Blizzard. A flurry of petals - smaller and sharper than the ones in a Petal Dance, but less controllable - made Carbink faint after just a few seconds.

"That was fast," Tochi remarked. "Am I next?"

The Trainer withdrew Carbink and sent out a Raichu. Tochi stepped into battle, eyeing the electricity crackling along his fur. Note to self, long-range moves only.

Carbink's Stealth Rock reappeared suddenly and dug into Tochi's fur. He winced in pain and flailed around until the rocks vanished to await their next victim.

"Nuzzle!"

The Raichu dropped to all fours and lunged at him. Tochi dodged, determined not to get paralyzed. He tried using Psychic, but again, he didn't aim properly. The raw psychic energy didn't surround Raichu, but at least it knocked him backwards a few feet.

Tochi tried again and managed to pull off the Type A Psychic. Raichu was lifted into the air, and Tochi threw him into the walls a few times before the Raichu unleashed a Thunderbolt that made him lose his concentration. Raichu tackled Tochi to the ground and attempted to Nuzzle him, but the Delphox whacked him in the face with his stick and set him on fire.

"Smooth," commented Sepal.

Raichu rolled around on the ground in an effort to put the flames out, but it was no use. Tochi roasted him with another Flamethrower. The Electric-type fainted.

"Can't win 'em all," the Trainer said calmly. "Kingdra?"

"Ooh!" Bub bounced forwards. "I got this."

"Hold it." Tochi put the tips of his fingers together. A shimmering Future Sight streaked into the ceiling and vanished. "Okay, now go."

"Cool!" Bub took her place, valiantly ignoring the Stealth Rocks that bit into her side.

Kingdra balanced on the tip of his tail. He started twisting and turning in an intricate dance. Purplish light built up around him as he steadily grew stronger.

Bub didn't want to give him the opportunity. She used Aqua Jet right away to knock him over and stop his Dragon Dance. The attack barely left a scratch, but it broke Kingdra's focus. Enraged, he spun even faster and created a Twister that pushed Bub back but, likewise, didn't actually damage her very much.

Bub and Kingdra traded blows for a while, each trying to get closer to the other to pull off an attack that would presumably actually hurt. Finally, Bub's Flash Cannon nailed Kingdra in the snout. As he reeled and blinked the flash out of his eyes, Bub smashed into him with Aqua Jet and used both Drill Peck and Metal Claw to dig into him. Then Tochi's Future Sight activated, finally knocking him out.

The Trainer recalled his last Pokemon. "Excellent! You have passed your first challenge. Please, go on ahead, and may your last journey be filled with joy. Oh, and, er, ignore the spectators."

He pointed. A crowd of Trainers were lined up at the Snowbelle end of the gate to watch the battles.

"Thanks for the advice," Tochi said. He was okay, and he looked at the others to make sure they were good to travel as well. "Come on, guys!"

~*Q*~

They noticed immediately that Victory Road lived up to its harsh reputation. Maybe it was the varied landscape of threatening caves and plunging waterfalls. Maybe it was the multitude of battle-scarred Pokemon and weary Trainers. Or maybe it was the fact that Tochi fainted ten minutes in. A Graveler ambushed him with an Earthquake that sent him flying...and then she exploded.

They rushed to the Santalune Pokemon Center because it was closest. Nostalgia - and the thought of how close they were to Vaniville - almost took their breath away, but they focused on getting to the Pokemon Center and getting back to Victory Road as fast as they could. It helped that humans everywhere were taking pictures and generally freaking out.

Alexa appeared in front of them as they waited for Tochi to be healed by Nurse Joy's machine. "It's been a while, guys! I see still you have my bag."

"Yeah," Sepal said. "We traded your EXP Share, though…"

"Still can't understand you," Alexa said brightly. "Some things never change, huh?"

The nurse opened Tochi's Pokeball. "You know," Nurse Joy commented as Tochi took the ball back to break it, "I can give you three some healing items. I'm sure they'll help you a lot in combat." She took their bag and helped to pile it high with Potions and Full Heals.

"Thanks…" Sepal said uncertainly, picking up a pink Hyper Potion. He shot the others a look that said, _how do these work, again?_

As they left the Center, they noticed that even Viola the Gym Leader was standing outside of her Gym to wave at them. Tochi's eyes zeroed in on a Pokeball around Viola's waist. He could just tell Vivillon was inside.

"Let's run!"

~*Q*~

Victory Road, Take Two. It went a lot better this time, now that they were more wary of random wild Pokemon and tough-as-nails Trainers. Bub was the go-to defeater of Graveler and the other Rock-types that ambushed them inside the torchlit caves. Tochi handled Gurdurr and Druddigon, and even a couple of Haunter, despite his Psychic-typing being a double-edged sword when it came to the Ghost/Poison types. Sepal fought everything else - Floatzel and Lickitung, namely. The Pokemon here were tough. Considering the Trainers that traveled through daily, they had to be.

One of the very first Trainers they came across had only a single Pokemon, a Weavile, but she eyed them so maliciously that both Tochi and Sepal backed up.

"She's got a Fighting move, guys," Bub said nervously. "Just look at her face. She knows something."

"She's Dark/Ice, Bub!" Tochi pleaded. "We're weak! You have to do it!"

"Okay…" Bub took a step forward. Weavile didn't move.

"Ha -"

Weavile unleashed a Focus Punch that caused Bub to go flying ten feet across the cave.

"Oh. She did."

~*Q*~

Eventually, in the first cave, they came across an underground lake that stretched across the cavern from end to end.

"No prob," Bub said cheerfully. "I'm totally used to Surfing with you guys!"

"Someone say Surfing?"

"Campbell!"

The Smeargle hopped down off a rock and went to join them. "'Afternoon! I've been waiting for you guys, actually. _Everyone_ knows by now that you're the first Trainerless Pokemon to challenge the Elite 4."

"You mean ever?" Sepal marveled. "Wow."

"So you three need a lift?"

"Oh, no!" Bub assured. "I've got this."

"Now hold on a sec," Campbell said, looking Bub in the eye. "I Surfed these two across Route 12 before you even joined the team!"

"Yeah?" Bub challenged. "Well, _I've_ known these two since before they even started their journey!"

"Race?"

"You're on!"

"I call Tochi." Campbell picked up the Delphox with ease and jumped onto the lake.

"Aw," Bub sulked, slipping into the water. "Hop on, Sepal."

"Why do you guys want Tochi?" Sepal asked, precariously climbing onto her back.

"He's not as heavy."

"Thanks."

"Three, two, one…" Campbell counted, then yelled "GO!" and used Quick Attack before the word had even left his mouth. Tochi clung to him for dear life as water sprayed everywhere.

"No fair!" Bub complained. Her voice was muffled as she used Aqua Jet and easily caught up.

Campbell had a lighter burden, but Bub could swim like a jet boat. She accelerated so fast that she didn't stop in time and dug a deep trench on the other shore of the lake. Campbell was in a similar case - he had been stacking Extremespeed onto his Quick Attack when he ran out of water, so he screeched to a halt, showering Tochi with mud.

"I win!" announced Bub. She straightened up so Sepal could stagger off of her and get his land legs back.

Tochi slid to the ground and groaned while Campbell said "Only by a few feet! I'll beat you at the next lake!"

"Challenge accepted."

"No!" both Sepal and Tochi shouted.

"What, you don't like Surfing contests?" Campbell said with a grin.

Tochi picked mud off his leg. "Not while I'm involved."

"Ah, lighten up. Hey, I know Whirlwind - need me to get that dirt off?"

~*Q*~

Campbell accompanied them through the rest of their journey.

The saving graces of Victory Road were the Rangers that gladly healed anyone who needed it. The only problem was that the starters kept backtracking to them over and over. Someone would point something out - a grizzled Veteran with a Talonflame, or a Hydreigon circling overhead - and they would rush to get healed before anything bad happened.

Though Tochi, Sepal, and Bub could practically feel themselves getting bulkier by the hour, Campbell avoided battling. There weren't many moves he could learn around Victory Road, but he stuck by them anyways for pure moral support. That is, until they passed an Artist on their second day of travel.

"Hey!" the old man shouted. "Yeh interrupted my landscapin'! Now yeh gotta battle!"

"My turn, right?" Bub asked.

"I think so," said Tochi.

The Artist sent out a Smeargle.

"What ho!" Campbell cried, rushing over to him. "A fellow Smeargle in a place like this?"

"Uh...yeah."

"What moves do you know?"

"Oh…" The Smeargle looked embarrassed. "Like, Protect...and Tackle...and Brick Break?"

"That's _it?"_

"Mr. Vincent is more interested in standing here and painting…"

"That's no excuse!" Campbell huffed. "Why would you blemish the Smeargle name like this?"

The second Smeargle got angry. "At least I don't have noodle arms, grandpa! What level are you, twelve?"

"Move it, Bub," Campbell said. "This one's on me."

"It's _Bu -_ " Bub started, but Tochi and Sepal grabbed her and dragged her back as fast as they could.

Vincent set down his paintbrush. "Smeargle, use Pro -"

Campbell used Feint and broke the Protect in seconds.

"Tackle!"

Campbell escaped with Dig and came up a moment later, sending Smeargle skidding over the ground.

"Eh, Brick Break?"

This time he used Fly.

"Crunch!"

"Are you done?" Campbell asked, blocking the attack with a Protect of his own.

"Um...like, maybe?"

"Good. Dark Void!"

Smeargle fell asleep as he sank into a puddle of cold shadows. Vincent was so startled, he knocked his easel over.

Campbell was weak, but he sure as heck knew a lot of moves. Before the other Smeargle woke up, Campbell used Blast Burn, Hydro Pump, Leaf Storm, Nasty Plot, Thunderbolt, Focus Blast, Focus Punch, Brick Break, Dark Pulse, Psyshock, Overheat, Iron Head, Head Smash, Play Rough, Shadow Claw ("wait, he's Normal-type"), Aerial Ace, Draco Meteor, Charge Beam, Sludge Bomb, Double-Edge, Ice Beam, Earthquake, Swords Dance, and finished off with -

"Oh," Tochi said faintly. "He actually did learn Dragon Ascent."

Campbell walked away from the smoking crater he had created. "Welp, let's go."

~*Q*~

It was the end of their third day of travel. Tochi lit a pile of wood and turned it into a crackling campfire.

"Are you asleep, guys?" Tochi asked, looking at the Pokemon huddled in a circle.

"No," Sepal said.

"Yes," Bub said.

Campbell didn't answer - he actually _was_ asleep. He rolled over and snored slightly.

Tochi sat closer to the fire. "Have you guys thought about...you know, after the Elite 4?"

"'Course," Sepal said, raising his head. "That doesn't mean we know what we want to do, though."

"Right," said Tochi. "I've been thinking, if I don't - you know, if Malva doesn't like me, I'll just go back to Vaniville and hang around. Maybe I'll find a Trainer who's actually almost good enough for me."

"Doubt that'll happen," Bub said sleepily, and Tochi almost blushed.

"But I've really been thinking," Tochi continued, "if I _do_ get accepted by her: are we going to split up?"

"I guess we'll have to," Sepal said quietly.

"I mean, maybe not," Bub said. "I could follow you and get trained by the Water human. Or the Steel one!"

"But that doesn't help Sepal."

"I'll still come and visit you, wherever I am," Sepal told Tochi. "It's not the end of the world."

"But I'll miss you."

"Me too."

"...You know what?" Bub said eventually, breaking the silence. "There are other regions out there, aren't there?"

"Yeah, of course," Tochi said. "Kanto, Unova…"

"I've heard there's a region out there where there's lots of lakes. And cold weather! I think I want to travel more after this."

"I want to learn about Mega Evolution," Sepal said. "Why I could do it without a Trainer. I wonder - Professor Sycamore could help me, couldn't he?"

Tochi frowned. "So you'll go back to Lumiose?"

"Maybe. Maybe not."

"We could teach Trainers' Pokemon how to battle Gym Leaders, but from a Pokemon's point of view," Bub said thoughtfully. "Wouldn't that be cool!"

Sepal raised his head. "I think you're onto something!"

"The Pokemon School for Pokemon!"

"Yeah!"

Tochi laughed. "Now I'm jealous."

"You kids and your aspirations," Campbell said, startling them. "Don't be me and stay in one route for seven years. You'll never do anything if you're stuck there."

Tochi shrugged. "You still did pretty good."

"To each their own."

"I'm falling asleep," Sepal yawned. "Let's talk tomorrow?"

"Sure," Tochi said. Tomorrow - when they'd be facing the strongest Trainers in the region. When he might meet his hero face-to-face. When they might even become Champions.

"Tomorrow."

~*Q*~

 **A/N: Tomorrow. See you then!**

 **~*Akirys*~**


	25. Sound Off (Pt 1)

**A/N: Welp, looks like I really am splitting this into two! Three chapters left after this, people!**

 **~*Q*~**

They left right away the next morning.

Their campsite was only a hundred yards from the official entrance to the Pokemon League. There were no wild Pokemon, so Tochi, Sepal, Bub, and Campbell walked there in nervous silence.

"I'm heading out," Campbell said finally. "Don't think fighting the Elite 4 along with you wouldn't end well."

"But you'll watch?" Sepal asked.

"'Course! Maybe I'll find a spot in person. Or catch it on a human TV, even."

Tochi patted Campbell's back. "See you."

"You too, kid. Good luck." He used another move to sink into the ground and disappear. Shadow Force? They couldn't even tell what it was.

The three remaining Pokemon drew near to the entrance. They were inside a cave; after spending the night there, the light shining from the exit was almost blinding.

The Pokemon League building caught their eyes as they stepped into the morning light. It was enormous, ridiculously so, and intimidating. Tochi's eyes landed on a slightly more familiar sight - a Pokemon Center, albeit one two or three times as big as normal. "You guys wanna stop there first?"

"Yup," Bub said immediately, and Sepal nodded.

The inside of the Pokemon Center was hectic. Human reporters rushed over to them as soon as they entered, and Trainers were hurrying around buying items in a frenzy. Most of them had at least one or two of their Pokemon out - Gyarados, Charizard - so it was a really good thing the Center was as big as it was.

"Hi there!" a reporter said to them as soon as they stepped through the door. Behind her, a man with a camera and a Machamp kept the other (jealous) reporters at bay. The two of them were wearing little earpieces that could be recognized as Pokemon-to-human translators. "Tochi, Sepal, and Bubbles?"

"It's _Bub!"_ Bub said. "Oh. Wait, I mea -"

The reporter cleared her throat. "Right then! So tell the world, you three, how does it make you feel that your Elite 4 battle - or bat _tles_ plural, if you can make it so far - will be televised to all of Kalos?"

"And select broadcasting stations in Hoenn!" a reporter in the background added.

"Fine…" Tochi said. "Kinda scared."

"'Fine, kinda scared,'" the reporter quoted for the camera. "Wonderful! Now, you'd normally have to sign up for a lengthy waiting line to challenge our Elite 4 members, busy as they are, but the esteemed Professor Sycamore in Lumiose has chosen to pay to bump you up to the 10:30 slot in just half an hour. How does _that_ make you feel?"

"That's great, actually!" Sepal said. "Um...hi, Professor. Thank you. For everything."

"'That's great actually hi Professor thank you for everything," repeated the reporter. "Glad to hear it. We'll get out of your way now; gotta prepare for the big fight, huh?" She moved aside, and the Machamp helped clear the way to Nurse Joy.

"She's not turning the camera off," Sepal whispered to Tochi.

"Pretend you don't notice!"

A small commotion was made when a Banette nearly stole Bub's Pokeball for his Trainer, but other than that, the healing went smoothly. Unfortunately, the cameras accompanied them all the way during the walk to the Pokemon League building.

"Um," Sepal asked them timidly. "Are you gonna go…?"

"Eventually," the reporter with a translator said cheerfully. "Remember, this is televised!"

Despite the entourage, they were stunned by the interior of the Pokemon League. It was just as big as it looked on the outside. A receptionist immediately motioned them to some waiting benches along with some other nervous-looking Trainers.

"Hi," Tochi told someone as he slid onto a seat. The Trainer just stared.

The newscasters finally left them alone to set up for the actual battle.

"Do you remember our first Gym battle?" Sepal said wistfully.

Tochi winced. "Yeah."

"No!" said Bub.

"Well, I miss it." Sepal looked at the reporters squabbling by the door. "Less...fanfare."

"I'm scared," Tochi said suddenly.

"It's okay," Bub assured. "So am I."

"No, I mean - Sepal, I dragged you here all for this. What if Malva doesn't like me? What if I brought you here for nothing?"

"Tochi, do you really think I'm still just doing it for you at this point?" Sepal said, amused. "I mean - I'm your friend, of course I'd be here helping you. But I think I've figured out what to do for myself by now."

"I just came along because you guys are cool," Bub put in. "And...yeah, it's nice being in charge for once. Does that make any sense?"

"Not really."

"I guess I'm kinda tired of being kept in a shelter and traded around and stuff. I'm ready to make my own decisions." Bub perked up. "And I get to travel!"

"Er...Tochi's group?" the receptionist called. "It's your turn. Please go down the hall on your left."

Tochi looked at the others. "Ready?"

~*Q*~

If the waiting room was huge, this place was majestic. Four gigantic doors circled an intricately decorated common room. Light shone from torches mounted on the walls. And standing in the very center was Malva herself.

Tochi made a faint squeaking sound.

The Fire-type Elite 4 member looked the three starters over. "So you're the ones that Kalos has been in such a tizzy over?" she said sarcastically. "Speak, Delphox; I only understand Fire-type."

"I - yes. Hi."

"Hmm. Very well, then. If you're ready to lose, step through any one of the doors." She turned to leave.

"Wait," Tochi managed. "We're - we're not _going_ to lose. And, and when we - um - don't lose, I have a favor to ask of you."

She raised her eyebrow. "Very well. Visit me last and tell me _after_ you 'don't lose.' The other Elite 4 members wouldn't want to be kept waiting by your petty request. Though keep in mind, I as well do so hate to be kept waiting."

Malva left without another word, the door to her chamber booming shut behind her.

"Are you all right, Tochi?" Bub asked.

His eyes were shining. "She's so cool."

~*Q*~

They discussed the matter and decided to visit the Dragon room first.

"Dragon-types," Tochi said with a shiver. "Best get them out of the way first. Anyone know the Elite 4 member's name?"

"I've seen her somewhere, but I don't remember," Sepal said with a frown.

"We don't need to know it!" Bub pleaded, hanging on the door with the dragon insignia over it. "Come on, guys!"

Tochi took a shaky breath. "Now or never."

It took all three of them to push open the door. They walked down a hallway and onto a platform, which glowed blue and lifted them into the Dragonmark Chamber proper.

The hall was filled with blue mist and the smell of incense, which quickly blew away as a giant stone dragon scraped its wings across the floor. The starters backed up as its head creaked into motion, seemingly regarding them with a cold glare before raising itself high enough to reveal an old woman standing in front of a throne.

"Welcome!" the human gushed. "Aren't you just the - forgive me, I'm so delighted to see you here today! My name is Drasna. I do hope you're as strong as the rumors say. But enough of that. Shall we begin?" Drasna released her first Pokemon, a Dragalge.

Tochi stepped forwards, and Drasna's smile grew. "Dragalge, dear...Surf!"

"Ah!" Tochi threw himself out of the way as Dragalge fluttered her fins and produced an immense wave. He rolled and came up standing and formed a Light Screen out of thin air for protection.

Sepal looked up and noticed cameras in the corners of the room. They _were_ on air, apparently.

The Dragalge was a master at Special attacks. Tochi utilized his Light Screen like a shield as he dodged quick bullets of Sludge Bomb and Dragon Pulse being fired at him in succession. With the boost from a hasty Flame Charge, he ran circles around the Dragon-type, occasionally firing Psychics or Flamethrowers at her. The Psychic did minimal damage, and the Flamethrowers even less.

It was her scales, Tochi realized as a Thunderbolt painfully crackled over his fur. She looked downright squishy, but her scales threw her special defense through the roof with an armor-like texture that made his flames slide right off.

Tochi was caught off guard with a Surf that swept him off his feet. For a split second he was drowning, but he used Psychic and split the wave down the middle, creating a strip of dry land that he caught his breath on. On the downside, he was suddenly surrounded by water on all sides - Dragalge aimed another Surf at him, but he created a Light Screen and held it over his head so the water only trickled onto his head as if through a sieve.

He then realized he was trapped in his own air pocket underneath even more water than before. Quickly, he used another Psychic; the effect was like blowing up a pool as water sloshed in all directions. The Dragalge was not spared, and Tochi hit her with Psychic as her own Surf engulfed her.

How would he get close enough to bypass her scales? Tochi asked himself. Flame Charge would barely do anything, likewise with Scratch, and -

Oh. Wait. Psyshock!

This one turned out much more kept vaulting around the room, avoiding Dragalge's attacks and retaliating with his own, and the Psyshock finally wore her down.

When Dragalge fainted, Drasna didn't miss a beat. She recalled her and sent out a Druddigon that leaped forward and hit Tochi with Retaliate before he had even taken a breath. The attack was painful, and Druddigon started raining Chip Away on him when he fell to the ground.

"Okay, wait…" Tochi fumbled for his wand and managed to temporarily pick up Druddigon and throw her across the room. "Guys, I need to switch."

"I'll go," Bub said immediately. "You stay and dry off."

When the Druddigon loped back, Bub was her new opponent. She started off with a Flash Cannon that Druddigon took by crossing her forearms. Bub kept switching moves - Flash Cannon, Hydro Pump - trying to keep her off guard. The first hurt Druddigon more, but the second was able to push her backwards and keep her off balance.

Finally, Bub tried getting closer for a Drill Peck, something that might have been more effective, but Druddigon was waiting for that and punched Bub in the side. While the Steel-type was too sturdy to be knocked to the ground by the blow, the breath was knocked out of her - Druddigon's Revenge hurt a _lot._ Bub tried to use Flash Cannon in the close range, but Druddigon quickly whipped around and hit her with Dragon Tail. Somehow, this attack _did_ send her flying, and Tochi and Sepal had to dodge before she landed on top of them.

Druddigon didn't race after her, so Bub took a moment to catch her breath. But when she tried to charge at Druddigon again, the Dragon-type simply shook her head and held up a claw.

"Huh?" Bub asked.

"Oh!" Drasna realized. "Silly me, Druddigon wants you to switch out again. Normally, her Dragon Tail does it by force, but since you three don't have Pokeballs, would you be a dear for us…?"

Bub shrugged. "Why not! Sepal?"

He nodded and took her place. Druddigon rushed him the moment he stepped forwards, but Sepal Growled, confusing her into hesitation, and blasted Sleep Powder in her face. When she was asleep, he went on to use Growth as many times as possible.

Druddigon woke up and seemed only slightly dismayed at Sepal's size. She punched him with Chip Away, but he withstood it fairly well and used a close-range, boosted-like-crazy Sludge Bomb to poison her and knock her out.

Drasna immediately recalled her and sent out an Altaria. She wasted no time in Singing; Sepal tried and failed to cover his ears. For what felt like only a few panicky seconds, he fell asleep.

He woke up to the feeling of something like a Moonblast in his side. Without fully opening his eyes, he fired a Sludge Bomb to his left. By the time he was fully up, the Sludge Bomb had burned into Altaria and eaten away at her extra-fluffy down (he judged that she had built it up with Cotton Guard while he was asleep.)

Still, Sepal ran towards her, using Petal Blizzard to shield himself from more attacks, and knocked her lower to the ground with a simple Tackle. The fluff caused him to practically bounce off. Sepal pretended he had just made a bad move, but his stealth Leech Seed had been planted.

Seeing that her Moonblast was easily countered by Sludge Bomb, Altaria switched to spamming Dragon Pulse. Those attacks were much more painful and harder to avoid, and Sepal spent a few minutes dodging wildly and hoping that his constant Leech Seed draining hadn't been detected yet. Finally, Altaria switched to Sing. He pretended that his ears weren't covered in time and sank to the ground, pretending to be asleep. Like he'd thought, Altaria used the time to relax and fuss over her acid-covered fluff instead of attacking. Sepal used Synthesis and healed himself so he was almost as good as new.

He "woke up" a few minutes later and hit Altaria with Sludge Bomb. The extra weight dragged her to the ground, and his Leech Seed finally drained the last of her health away.

Sepal preemptively switched with Bub as Drasna sent out her last Pokemon, a Noivern. As soon as Bub was on the field, Noivern rushed over and started prodding her with the claws on the tips of her wings.

"Hey!" Bub complained, wiggling her place.

"No items, Miss Drasna!" Noivern reported cheerfully.

"Her ability is Frisk," Drasna said, equally happily. "My, isn't it so useful at times?"

Bub hadn't realized Noivern was attacking until the claws on her shoulders clamped down. Noivern bit Bub on the wing. The attack must have been Super Fang - no ordinary biting attack could have made her so pained so quickly. Then she blew a stream of fire in Bub's face. Bub immediately doused it with Aqua Jet and body-slammed Noivern, but she thought she could feel a burn beginning on her cheek.

Noivern pulled herself out from under her and took to the air. Bub followed her with Aqua Jet, but Noivern was much more graceful and was not trying to control her flight path by spitting water everywhere. They exchanged Flash Cannon and Dragon Pulse until Bub lost momentum and fell to the ground, where the battle quickly turned into a land vs air, sniper vs sniper type of affair.

Bub missed a beat when the burn on her face started to sting, and Noivern successfully hit with an Air Slash. Bub wasn't all that affected. Really, none of Noivern's attacking moves were very effective except for Flamethrower, and that one was doused with Whirlpool and Aqua Jet. Despite her natural resistance, Noivern also clearly didn't like getting wet - she was constantly letting herself get hit by slowing down in midair to try and shake water out of her wings. The cold and the water wore her down, and Bub used Brine to catch her off guard, making Noivern finally land to scrub saltwater out of her eyes. Bub jumped on her back and finished with Drill Peck.

Drasna returned Noivern. Bub thought for a second that she was about to go for a secret fifth Pokemon, but the Elite 4 member only smiled. "Goodness, what fun that was! Congratulations on beating your first obstacle to the Champion! Though I do hope I haven't raised your confidence too much."

"Definitely not," Tochi said wearily.

"My three coworkers are just as challenging. If not more, even! Go to the elevator - I wish you luck, my dears."

~*Q*~

"Steel or Water?" Sepal asked as they tended to themselves with Berries and various items.

Bub turned a Burn Heal upside down. "Um...you press this button here, right?"

"I have no idea."

She shrugged and pressed it anyways; she had to keep one wing flat like a table while pressing down with the other. A cool mist wafted out, and Bub blinked before applying to her face.

Tochi was doing the same with a Hyper Potion. His paws gave him a much easier time. "Can we go for Water, actually? I don't want to go to Malva right away if I'm soaking wet…"

"I'm fine with that," Sepal said. "I think I'm the least hurt, anyways. I'm not too tired for Water-types."

"Right," Bub said. "To the water guy!"

They pushed open the next door and found the next platform. This one lifted them into a shimmering blue room. Watery pillars erupted on either side of them, and then more water gushed in a curtain over the walls.

They approached the next Elite member. He was sitting on his chair, balancing something on the armrest. He wasn't even looking at them, in fact.

Tochi, Sepal, and Bub approached.

"Hello?" Bub ventured.

"Mmph- oh." He was eating something. He quickly stashed a plate (poffins?) underneath his throne and brushed crumbs out of his lap. "Forgive me. I thought I'd do some cooking...I, ah, hadn't had breakfast, you see…"

"Were those made from Aspear Berries?" Tochi asked. "Those are my favorite!"

"Ahem!" The man attempted to regain his dignity. "Challengers, my name is Siebold. You know me as the Water specialist of the Elite 4. I believe in the delicate art of Pokemon battling, in the joy of building towards victory and standing strong against every obstacle, despite that these sensations will fade as fleetingly as they arrive! As a Chef puts his soul into every meal he prepares, I will put my all into crushing you beneath my heel!"

"So how did you cook Poffins in a room full of water?" Bub asked.

"Never mind that!" Incensed, he released a Clawitzer and stepped backwards.

Sepal went first. The Clawitzer splashed around in a pool at the base of the chair and tentatively shot a Water Pulse at him from his left claw, which Sepal withstood easily. Apparently growing bolder, Clawitzer started firing more attacks, slowly getting faster and more varied.

Sepal conjured up a Petal Blizzard and charged at Clawitzer. It tried to dive deeper, but it couldn't escape; Sepal only had to stand on the edge of the water and let the petals damage him even more. The Clawitzer shot futile Water Pulses at the petals, and then a Dark Pulse at Sepal himself. Sepal flinched, and Clawitzer made his escape.

That was Clawitzer's weakness, Sepal deduced. He hit hard, but he couldn't really defend against attacks.

The Venusaur tried a new tactic: he used Vine Whip and tried to hold Clawitzer still. The Pokemon twisted and turned through its pool. It was next to impossible to get a grip even when he did manage to smack Clawitzer through sheer luck. Plan C.

He used Petal Dance, judged how deep the pool was for a split second, and jumped in himself. Tochi and Bub both gasped, though Bub started to giggle. The pool even had a deep and a shallow end; he was tall enough to go somewhere in the center, so he calmly stood in the middle of the (cold and uncomfortable) pool as the Clawitzer huddled in the deep end to escape.

The good thing about Petal Dance compared to Petal Blizzard was that the petals themselves were larger and more controllable. Like homing missiles, Sepal directed them towards the far end of the pool and cornered Clawitzer. He tried to dodge by blasting the petals away, but it didn't take long for him to succumb to the attack. As Siebold recalled Clawitzer and gave the Pokeball a little pat, Sepal let his attack die down. He was a little dizzy, but he shook his head, trying not to let his mild confusion get the best of him.

Siebold released his next Pokemon...a Gyarados. He landed in the deep end with a gigantic splash - a good ten feet of him was still sticking out of water. Sepal tried to backpedal frantically, but Venusaur weren't really made for swimming.

"You're in my territory, now," Gyarados rumbled, showing his fangs off with a grin.

Then his grin turned icy white as he bit Sepal with a Ice Fang. Covered with water as he was, Sepal froze instantly, and Gyarados almost lazy tossed his new ice sculpture through the air. Sepal landed on the ground next to Tochi and Bub. The ice encasing him defrosted, but he was still too cold to move.

Tochi and Bub looked at each other.

"I'm the Fire-type," Tochi said. Bub sighed and trudged forwards.

Gyarados was using Dragon Dance, and Bub panicked. She hit him in the next with a Flash Cannon before he could get too powerful.

Gyarados stopped, reeling in pain, and lowered his head to glare at Bub. She responded by hitting him with Flash Cannon again, this time in the eye. He bellowed angrily. Bub activated Aqua Jet and took off.

The battle was a little bit like a human trying to hit something with a flyswatter, but Bub was too big to pull that scenario off correctly. Instead, Gyarados jumped out of a water to knock her off course with Waterfall, and Bub would endure the attack and sting him with Drill Peck or Steel Wing in return. The random swervings of Aqua Jet proved beneficial because they tended to throw Gyarados off guard.

Finally, Gyarados got in a lucky shot by smacking her with his powerful tail. Bub was hurled out of the air. She landed with a _splash_ in the pool at the same time that Gyarados did. Bub put her jet-boat-swimming skills to use and used Steel Wing to drive him straight into the other wall of the pool. Gyarados wheezed, and Bub started smacking him with Steel Wing in the same spot, over and over.

Gyarados had one more trick up his sleeve. He slammed his lower half into the bottom of the pool and fractured it, creating an immense Earthquake that not only brutally shook everything inside the pool but but the entire room. Bub was jolted violently like a loose trinket in a snowglobe, but she clung to Gyarados for dear life, digging into him with the spikes on her wings, and kept pecking him with Drill Peck all throughout it. When the chaos died down, Gyarados was finally unconscious.

"...Bub," Tochi said in amazement. "You just beat a _Gyarados!"_

Bub was grinning. "I feel awesome!"

Siebold sent out his next Pokemon, Starmie, after Gyarados was returned. There wasn't really a question for who would stay in on this one.

"Gimme a second, will ya?" Starmie hummed immediately, its gem core lighting up in time with its words. "Gotta repair the pool."

"Um...sure?" said Bub.

Starmie went to work. It meticulously lifted every single fragment of the fractured pool bottom with Psychic and carefully lowered it into place. Due to the amount of water that Gyarados had splashed out of the pool, and the jagged chunks of concrete, Starmie had difficulty moving, but its maneuverability increased as the foundation was set back into place. It cheerfully hummed some sort of elevator music as it worked.

Bub got out of the pool and lay on her stomach, fidgeting slightly. She tried to think of some kind of boosting move she could use when Starmie wasn't looking, but in the end she just sprawled on the ground and waited.

Unbeknownst to all of them, Siebold subtly dug his plate of Poffins out from under his chair and took a bite.

Starmie finished putting the concrete back in place. It spun over the bottom, making sure everything was nice and smooth, before using an underwater Surf to restore the water level to its original height.

"Okay!" it announced. "I'm done."

"I sort of feel bad about messing it up again," Bub said, sliding into the newly repaired pool with a _ploosh._

"Ah, don't feel bad," Starmie said cheerfully. As it spoke, it was building a Light Screen in the water. The light reflected through both the water and the screen, so Bub could see what looked like a glitch in the world even after the shield disappeared from sight.

Bub got an idea. "In fact, I'm feeling really tired after all that waiting. I just kind of...I just…" She Yawned widely.

The Starmie's core lit up brightly as it made a yawning sound too, though it was hard to tell since it didn't have a mouth. "Funny you should mention...I…"

Bub struck. She zoomed forward and used Drill Peck right on the Starmie's gem. It cried out and flashed with Dazzling Gleam, blinding Bub, but she kept randomly thrashing around with Drill Peck until she heard it settle to the bottom of the pool.

The Empoleon cracked her eyes open. Starmie lay flat on the bottom, its gem gently flickering on and off in time to its deep...breathing sounds.

She used the opportunity to 'Peck it over and over in its weak spot, though she was a little worried about cracking it. By the time Starmie woke up, it was severely weakened; while not broken, its core's light was feeble.

Starmie had one shot. It surrounded Bub with Psychic and lifted her out of the pool in an attempt to drop her on the ground, but Bub struggled and managed to direct her course with Aqua Jet as she fell. It was only by a margin, but it was enough to send her falling straight on top of Starmie. Its light died immediately - it had fainted.

Siebold released his last Pokemon, Barbaracle. Bub was still raring to go, but Sepal stopped her. "Can I go?" He knew he wouldn't be of much use against the Steel- or Fire-type gyms.

Bub cheerfully let him go and took her place next to Tochi. It was only after she left the battle that her Torrent boost wore off. "Oh man, what did I just _do…"_

Sepal stared at the Barbaracle confidently, knowing how effective his Grass moves would be. The Barbaracle ran through its moves and was significantly less confident, but hid behind a brave leer.

Sepal started off with Petal Dance. Barbaracle tossed a Razor Shell from claw to claw and threw it like a boomerang. The shell whizzed around, knocking petals off course, but more took their place. Barbaracle stomped his foot and caused a Stone Edge to erupt underneath Sepal, which threw him...forward, and straight into Barbaracle. He used the opportunity to send his Petal Dance into a frenzy so the Rock-type was sliced all over with sharp projectiles. Sepal could feel Barbaracle hitting him with painful, close-range X-Scissors, but he was determined to hang on for as long as he could.

All of a sudden, the Barbaracle's struggling just stopped. Sepal stopped his Petal Dance and looked down in surprise; Barbaracle had already fainted.

"He's my strongest Pokemon if you get him going, but he never was good with Grass-types, poor fellow," Siebold said ruefully, recalling him. "That was wonderful. Simply marvelous. Especially your performance, Empoleon."

"Me?" Bub blushed.

"Go on. Two more challenges await, yes? May you succeed in your journey...and let me finish the rest of my meal."

~*Q*~


	26. Sound Off (Pt 2)

**A/N: Part Two! This chapter, well, let's just say it turned out differently than what I envisioned.**

 _~*Q*~_

 _The thing about "fainting" was that it wasn't permanent, nor was is particularly damaging. All Pokemon had a natural resistance to the elements - lightning bolts, hailstorms, and gusts of dragonfire didn't do much more than temporarily blacken or bruise them; that's not to say it didn't hurt at all, though. Supereffective attacks were the most dangerous, but even they didn't permanently cripple an opponent. After fainting was another story..._

 _~*Q*~_

The Steel-type leader was next.

They healed up in the main room and went on into the chamber. The platform rose into a room that was completely still for a split second. Then gigantic, Honedge-esque blades rammed down on either side of them. Bub yelped and would have clung to Tochi if she had hands.

The blades twisted, creating stairs that led upwards to the Steel specialist and his throne. The starters approached him, and the human stepped forwards as well.

"Well met, Pokemon! Verily am I Wilkstrom, the blade of hardened steel known for knighthood across all the land. Let us make haste with thine battle to glorious fame! Do you promise to ensure that this contest is fair and honorable?"

"Uh...yes!" Tochi said, moving to take his place for the first bout.

"Then let us begin," Wilkstrom said. " _En garde!"_

He sent out his first Pokemon, a Klefki. He looked so at odds against the dignified human knight that Tochi almost laughed. He pulled out his wand to try a Mystical Fire.

But before he could move, the Klefki was gone. He popped up behind Tochi and giggled - a sound that's indescribable coming from a key-ring-shaped Pokemon - and did a little twirl close to the ground. Metallic spikes burst out from his body and impaled themselves in the ground before disappearing. It must have been the move Spikes.

But now Klefki was near both him and the ground. Tochi stepped on him, pinning one of his keys into the dirt, and unleashed a close-range Flamethrower. He squeaked and seemed to want to abandon the key to escape, but at the same time he stubbornly refused to let go of it. Instead, Klefki managed to aim and shoot a Flash Cannon straight through the flames. The beam hit Tochi's wand arm and sent the stick spinning across the arena. Tochi let out a cry and dove after it. The Klefki took a moment to recover, looking grimly vengeful.

Tochi and the Kleki regrouped, each cradling their respective precious items, and glared murderously at each other. The battle had just gotten personal.

They shot a Flamethrower and a Dazzling Gleam at each other. Even as the Dazzling Gleam burned his eyes, Tochi knew he would win in an out-and-out duel; he was far better at ranged attacks than his opponent. He aimed another fire attack on the tail of his last one, but Klefki, burned and enraged, flew into his face and started shouted. " _Two attacks! Two attacks! No fair! Cheater!"_

Tochi cringed. He was aware that Klefki was using Torment on him - heck, the Dark-type energy laced into a Pokemon's words was actually audible, at least for the Fennekin line - but the attack took effect all the same. He looked abashedly at his wand, but he couldn't bring himself to use another Flamethrower.

"Oh well," Tochi shrugged, and used Mystical Fire instead.

Klefki fainted dead away when the flames hit. He had already withstood an impressive amount of fire anyways, at least.

"Most spectacular!" Wilkstrom recalled his Klefki. "My noble Probopass! Come forth!"

When the Rock/Steel type appeared, Tochi backed up. "You guys want this?"

"I got it," said Sepal.

Probopass literally looked down his nose at him. Already, he had quite a pompous attitude, and the Pokemon's appearance only added to that.

Probopass started with Earth Power. His Mini-Nose units circled him rapidly and then zipped over to Sepal. Sepal tried to avoid them, but the three units surrounded him and slammed down on the ground. His square of the ground erupted; chunks of earth flew upwards and hit him both on their way up and down after gravity took hold. Probopass made a honking sound, and the Mini-Noses zoomed back to him.

Probopass and his noses started to glow with another attack, but Sepal didn't give him a chance. He used Petal Blizzard, and Probopass sneezed as petals flew into his nostrils and cut up his rocky skin. The Compass Pokemon used Discharge, making his Mini-Noses spin even faster, and kept it up until all the petals burnt away. He had to pause for a second afterward, temporarily exhausted.

As soon as he paused, Sepal used the opportunity to build up a Solarbeam. It hit the Probopass but slid off due to his high special defense. The Probopass wasn't very hurt, but he was blinded; Sepal didn't let up on his attacks and started smacking him with Vine Whips. That was only a little more effective, and the Mini-Noses started trying to tug his vines away. He stopped using Vine Whip and got into a tug-of-war with the Mini-Nose. Probopass' powerful magnetism kept Sepal from pulling the nose away, but he managed to distract Probopass for an even longer period of time.

"Let go of that!" Probopass demanded in a stuffy tone of voice. "That's mine! Ow!"

Direct attacks wouldn't work; Probopass was like a brick wall. (Except tougher, since he was Steel-type too.) Sepal ran towards him with a Petal Blizzard flurrying around him and shrugged off Probopass' Flash Cannon until he was able to latch a Leech Seed onto him.

Probopass must have been used to his incredible defenses doing all the work, because when the Leech Seed was stuck to him, he just gave up. He stopped firing arbitrary Power Gems and hopped around frantically as his Mini-Noses tried in a frenzy to scrub the seed away. When he failed, he sat there berating Sepal, who sat there staring at him until the Leech Seed did him in five minutes later. Apparently he didn't like slow-draining moves.

" _-Uncouth!"_ Probopass finished, and fainted. Wilkstrom recalled him and sent out a Scizor instead.

Tochi immediately took Sepal's place. Instead of being nervous at the prospect of a Fire-type, Scizor looked him up and down and smirked.

Tochi whipped his wand out and blasted a Flamethrower at his opponent, but Scizor dodged almost too fast for the eye to follow. He socked Tochi with a Bullet Punch, then an Iron Head, and got in another Bullet Punch when Tochi reeled backwards. Scizor attempted to use a fourth move - maybe X-Scissor - but Tochi finally roasted him with his Fire-type attack.

He was hoping that the Flamethrower would knock the Bug-type out, but Scizor was still standing strong. Despite Tochi's attempts to surround himself in Flame Charge a la Korrina's gym, Scizor headbutted him and sent him skidding several feet across the ground. The Scizor sat on his knees on top of Tochi and sneered at him.

"Wanna see my secret weapon?" he asked, and used Night Slash.

It _hurt._ The Scizor Slashed him again, with his other pincer, and Tochi's ability Blaze activated instantly. Scizor leaped off of him, smoldering as the Delphox burst into flames, and immediately lunged at Tochi to take him out with Bullet Punch. Tochi held up his stick and blocked the attack; the wand creaked for a heart-stopping second but didn't break.

Then Tochi turned his wand vertical. A point-blank Fire Blast roared into Scizor's face and almost melted the Metal Coat out of him. It barely even need to be said that the Scizor fainted instantly.

Wilkstrom returned Scizor, wiping his brow - he must not have been too comfortable in his armor. He sent out Aegislash, his last Pokemon.

Sepal watched Tochi nervously, wondering whether he was okay to battle. "Tochi, will you -"

"No." Tochi walked off the battlefield and collapsed on the ground facefirst.

Bub shrugged. "I...guess I'm fighting next."

She faced Aegislash, who saluted smartly. " _A pleasure to meet another Steel-type in battle!"_ he said, voice resonating along his blade. " _Usually it's all Flamethrower this and Earthquake that, know what I'm saying?"_

Bub nodded guiltily. She actually did have an Earthquake TM that she and Sepal had been considering using. "Oh, absolutely!"

The sword Pokemon just beamed and nodded along.

"Sooo...anyways."

" _Anyways,"_ Aegislash agreed. " _Sacred Sword!"_

Bub didn't have time to do anything but use Aqua Jet. The thin layer of water didn't stop Aegislash's blade at all, but she painfully endured the attack and turned her Aqua Jet into a Surf. Aegislash was washed away, sputtering, before Bub targeted him with an actual Aqua Jet.

" _King's Shield!"_ Aegislash ducked behind his shield, and a larger, translucent version of it flickered around him. Knowing the negative effects from hitting a King's Shield, Bub swerved at the last moment and used a Flash Cannon instead. It deflected off the barrier and burnt a hole in the ceiling.

Aegislash ended his protection, but he had clearly shifted out of Blade Forme. He hunched behind his shield, his single eye giving Bub a look reminiscent of _Come and get me, sucker!_

Bub Growled at him. She could see it had an effect on him, but it didn't lower his defenses at all. She washed Surfs and Whirlpools over the Aegislash, but he largely was able to deflect the attacks. Finally, Bub stopped attacking, taking a moment to pant for breath and rest.

" _Ha! Sacred Sword! Again!"_ As soon as her guard was lowered, Aegislash whipped himself out of Shield Forme and lunged with his blade extended.

Bub parried. Mimicking what Tochi had done with his wand, she bolstered her wing with Steel Wing and blocked the sword Pokemon's strike. His eye crinkled, and he slashed again; Bub managed to counter him, and the two got into a quick, impromptu swordfight before Bub Aqua Jetted him into the far wall. As he slid down the wall, Aegislash gave her another weak salute and let himself be recalled into his Pokeball. Or maybe he had recalled himself? It was hard to tell.

"Most glorious!" Wilkstrom's eyes shone. "Prithee, what is your secret? How can I aspire to best thee?"

Bub glanced at the others. "Umm…travel a lot, and fight lots of Pokemon?"

"Lo, I cannot decipher your speech, Empoleon! I know not your mighty secrets, but perhaps they were not for mine ears to behold. Pray, go to your last challenge. I do believe the Champion herself should begin to expect you."

~*Q*~

Malva.

Tochi had almost fainted, so they spent time trying to figure out how to use a Full Restore. The Potions were difficult enough with buttons and spray nozzles; the Full Restore had some kind of weird handle on it that they had difficulty getting their hands and/or appendages on.

"We gotta hurry," Tochi kept saying. "She's expecting us!"

"Toch, do you really wanna go in there like that?" Sepal insisted.

"Ha!" Bub had wedged a wing spike into the handle, and a fine mist sprayed out the other end. "I think you should just spray it where it hurts."

Tochi inhaled it, just for good measure. He immediately started hacking. "That's _gross!"_

"Are you better?" Sepal asked.

"Well, I don't think I'm fainted. Can you pass me another Potion?"

Once they were healed, more or less, they continued on to the final room. Even in the hall leading up to the platform, Malva's chamber was noticeably warmer than the others. The temperature only went up as the platform carried them into the room proper. The starters were greeted by twin columns of flame on either side; for Sepal, it was especially bad. The fire didn't dissipate, leaving them to make their way forward in the blistering heat.

Malva was reclining on her throne. She didn't even get up. Tochi wasn't quite sure if she even cared that they approached, so he jumped slightly when the Fire-type Elite 4 member said, "Well, Delphox? I see you've made it all the way here."

"My name is Tochi -"

"So far, you're just a Delphox to me."

"I've come to ask a request of you."

"So I've heard."

"Will you accept me onto your team?"

Malva actually laughed. "You?"

"Yes," Tochi said steadily. "I've come a long way...as you can see."

"Well, Delphox," Malva said, leaning forwards. "Or Tochi, be that as it may. Here's the problem. If you lose? You won't impress me enough for me to give you a second thought. If you win? Sure, you might stick in my mind, but what's the point of joining the loser if you're clearly stronger than I am? Anyone who knows me knows _I_ only back the winning side."

Tochi nodded. "Then maybe I'm the one who should teach you a thing or two."

Sepal's eyes widened, but Malva only nodded back. "You're a fiery one. I can respect that. One thing."

"Yes?"

"Your friends can help you, but you have to beat my trump card, my Talonflame, all on your own. Think you can handle it?"

"I can," Tochi said firmly.

"Very well, then. Prepare for battle!"

Malva sent out a Pyroar that looked at Tochi derisively. Tochi pulled his wand out and twirled it.

"I do think having a Psychic-type would be interesting," Malva mused, hand on her chin, as Tochi countered Pyroar's Wild Charge with a Psyshock. "Half the little brats in Kalos have a Fennekin, at any rate."

With her Flamethrower being borderline useless, Pyroar's strategy was to strike hard and often with Wild Charge. Tochi tried to keep her at bay with Psychic, but he kept missing; instead of picking her up like he wanted to, he kept blasting her with pure psychic energy, which the lioness was able to shake off with comparative ease. It didn't help that Tochi's thoughts were consumed with _MALVA IS WATCHING ME._ He could have cared less that their battles were being broadcast to all of Kalos, but when his idol was in the room…

He grew distracted, and Pyroar pounced on him. She snarled and electrified both him and herself. Tochi raised his stick - at this close range, there was no way he could miss.

Then Pyroar used an entirely different attack. Straight in Tochi's face, she _roared_ at the top of her lungs, so loudly that a shockwave pressed him flat into the ground. Hyper Voice.

Tochi screamed and dropped his stick to clutch his ears. It felt like someone had just blasted acid into them from both sides. His vision blurred. He could tell Pyroar was roaring again, and then maybe a third time, but he couldn't hear a thing. It felt like he would never hear again.

Things started happening fast. Sepal appeared in his field of vision. He was being dragged off the field with Vine Whip. Bub was already taking care of the Pyroar, blasting it with a Surf that sent her flying across the room.

Malva looked troubled. She half-rose out of her seat.

Pyroar was recalled and a Torkoal was sent out to take her place, but Tochi's attention drifted from the battle. Sepal waved his vines in his face, desperately trying to keep his attention.

Sepal tried to mouth something at him, but it just looked like _venusaur, venusaur, venusaur._ Tochi couldn't hear the undertones. He shook his head.

Sepal started administering a Full Restore on him, directly on his head. He could hear a faint ringing sound, but that was all.

Tochi's stick was somewhere out on the field, but he was still a Psychic-type, right? Tochi closed his eyes and aimed his thoughts towards Sepal as best he could.

 _Sepal?_

 _Tochi? Tochi! Huh?_

 _Telepathy._

 _You're using Psychic energy on me?_ As he applied the medicine, Sepal wavered, but he shook his head. _No. That's fine. I don't care. Tochi, how are you?_

 _Bad._

 _Can you hear?_

 _No._

Sepal looked like he was trying not to panic. _Um. Okay. I'm putting the, the Full Restores and some Revives on, Tochi. Just hang on._

Bub looked furious and scared. She was taking everything out on the Torkoal, which fainted underneath a tidal wave of water even as Tochi watched. Malva seemed reluctant to bring out another Pokemon - her eyes cut toward Tochi and Sepal - but Bub appeared to scream at her, and Malva sent out a Chandelure.

 _She blames Malva already,_ Sepal thought. _She's battling so she won't go after Malva herself._

 _No. Don't blame her._

 _I know you idolize her, but -_

 _It wasn't the Pyroar's fault either._

The Chandelure was more difficult to deal with for Bub. The Chandelure confused her, and Bub swerved frantically into the walls and ceiling before her Aqua Jet collided with the floor. Bub created whirlpools that steamed in the heat of the chamber, but they collided with Chandelure by pure chance. Bub shook off the confusion slowly as Chandelure fired Shadow Balls from the middle of her watery prison.

 _They must see something on the cameras, Tochi. I'm sure some humans will come and give you better medical attention than I can._

 _No. The medicine's taking effect. Wait._

Bub created a small sphere of water. She launched it at Chandelure, and it exploded into monstrous Hydro Cannon, fifteen feet across, that engulfed the Chandelure entirely. When the wave died away, Chandelure was stuck on the far wall in the center of a damp circle. Malva returned her and sent out her last Pokemon, a Talonflame. Bub stared it down.

"Wait."

Tochi was standing. The Revives and Full Restores hadn't affected his hearing, but they had affected his body. He felt stronger than he had coming in.

"I want to fight."

Bub, Sepal, and Malva protested something, but Tochi shook his head. "I...can't hear you. I want to show you I can still win."

He didn't wait for a response. He opened his paw, and his stick - lying slightly damp on the floor - flew into his grip.

He couldn't hear, so he amplified his sight. He aimed at Talonflame, who was reluctantly hovering in the air, and shot a blast of Psychic energy at her dead-center in her chest. Critical hit.

She opened her beak, probably for an angry screech, and dive-bombed him with something like Quick Attack. He raised his wand again and easily surrounded her with a Type A Psychic, throwing her into the wall. Critical hit.

Tochi put his paws together and created a Future Sight as the Talonflame shook off the damage she received. The bird Pokemon dive bombed him in earnest, wings glowing with Brave Bird, but Tochi stepped aside at the last second and hit her with Psyshock. Critical hit.

The Talonflame was know close enough to easily grab Tochi in her talons. Physical attacks were every Talonflame's specialty. Tochi wondered detachedly if he'd be able to take a hit.

Then his Future Sight streaked down from the sky, knocking Talonflame unconscious on contact. It too was a critical hit.

Stunned, Malva recalled her last Pokemon.

The doors opened, and a horde of Nurse Joys streaked in wheeling a medical machine with at least six Chanseys in tow. One of them captured him in a Pokeball, and he didn't resist. His vision went dark.

The Elite 4 had been defeated.

 _~*Q*~_


	27. Let's Wrap This Up

**A/N: Last chapter of the day, and it's the grand finale! It's also my longest chapter by far. Thank you for sticking with me, and I hope you review and enjoy!**

~*Q*~

Three days passed since the fight against Malva.

Tochi was put in a Pokeball as soon as the incident happened, and soon after that, the Nurse Joys brought him into the Pokemon Center at the end of Victory Road. Sepal and Bub went with, but they were kept in their Pokeballs as well. Most of Kalos was going absolutely wild - the fact that one of their own Elite 4 members had permanently damaged a challenger had caused nationwide debate and panic. Many people were calling for Malva's Pyroar to be taken off the team; a small percentage, worse. Malva herself declined to comment.

The other Elite 4 members were similarly upset, but challenges weren't postponed. Right after the starters left Malva's chamber, the next challenger was called in so their schedule wouldn't be thrown off. However, Diantha announced that Sepal, Bub, and Tochi were still able to challenge her at any point, "assuming they so choose."

After a long period of being in a Pokeball, Tochi was released in a Pokemon Center hospital bed. Crowded around him were Bub, Sepal, Campbell, Nurse Joy, a Chansey, and an Alakazam. His Pokeball lay on a small desk by the bed.

"Tochi?" the Nurse Joy spoke.

His ears shot up. "I - I can hear! Sort of…" Her voice was unnaturally quiet. Everything was.

"Good," the nurse said, relieved. "Hocus, we won't need translation; go on if you don't want to stay." The Alakazam, apparently Hocus, nodded and Teleported away.

"Tochi, do you remember that happened?" Nurse Joy asked.

Tochi looked at Sepal and the others, who looked concerned and fearful at the same time. "Yeah. I battled. Hyper Voice…"

Nurse Joy nodded. "What happened was that -"

"Could you speak up? S-sorry."

"Of course. What happened was that the Pyroar used Hyper Voice very close to you. Being a Delphox, and having sensitive hearing that stays even more attuned through Psychic energy, you were knocked out instantly."

"Right."

" _But,_ Pyroar didn't know that. She used Hyper Voice on you twice more. And you know what happens after a Pokemon faints."

"My resistance goes away. If I'm attacked, I get damaged permanently."

"Well, that's the good news." Nurse Joy shuffled some papers on her clipboard, probably just for effect. "Your friend Sepal there healed you as well as he could…"

"I guess I did," Sepal mumbled. He sounded hoarse.

"And thanks to the Revive he used, we were able to put you in stasis - in a Pokeball, that is to say - without further damaging you. We performed semisuccessful operations with medical technology, amplified Heal Pulse, and the like. So we recovered some of your hearing...some, but not all."

Tochi touched his ears tentatively. They felt fine. _He_ felt fine. "By how much?"

"I'd say your hearing is approximate to below average for a normal adult human's. Not Delphox level, but we get through life just fine, as you can see." Nurse Joy smiled brightly. "Anyways, we also discovered your psychic powers were...redirected."

"To my eyes?" Tochi was still seeing things differently. Not in a bad way, but he could pick out every speck on the ceiling, as well as the exact dead center of everything he looked at. Clipboard, pillows, Chanseys. It was like everything had a bulls' eye on it.

"Exactly. I'm sorry, Tochi. You won't be the same, but I think you'll compensate for it. You Pokemon are quite resilient, after all."

"Thanks, Nurse Joy. Can I talk to my friends now?"

"Of course. Come along, Chansey." Nurse Joy and her Pokemon left, shutting the door behind her.

"I'm sorry!" both Bub and Sepal burst out as soon as the door clicked.

"What for?" Tochi asked, pulling himself farther up on the bed and pushing the covers away. Like always, it felt weird being between sheets.

"I-I don't know," Sepal blurted. "I didn't help enough!"

"I didn't do _anything!"_ Bub cried. "I just sat there - and fought the stupid Pokemon - and you were there and I was really scared and it was all Malva's fault -"

"It's nobody's fault," Tochi said calmly. "Well, maybe Pyroar's…"

"Are you going to be okay?" Sepal asked timidly.

Tochi opened his mouth, then closed it. "Wait, were you always that soft-spoken, Sepal?"

Sepal shrugged and sniffled, and Bub burst into tears again.

"Enough!" Campbell finally yelled. Tochi had forgotten he was there. "Tochi evolved is all. And it was a very weird evolution, but things change, and sometimes you lose things when you evolve at the same time as you gain other things. Tochi's a Serperior now, you got it? He lost his little Servine feet, but to make for it, now he's...I dunno, bigger."

"That analogy doesn't even work!" Bub protested.

"Hey, you try to think of one spur of the moment, kid! What, do all old Pokemon give good advice or something?"

Someone knocked on the door.

Bub peeked through the window. "Oh. It's her."

"Nurse Joy?" Tochi asked.

"Nope. Malva."

"...oh." Tochi's throat was dry. "Um, she can come in."

Bub nodded at her through the window and backed up. Malva entered the room.

"I'd prefer you to leave," she said, looking at the Pokemon crowded against the bed.

Campbell left quickly with an apologetic glance at Tochi. He seemed afraid of Malva...for good reason, maybe. Bub left after a few seconds, but Sepal refused to budge.

"Right." Malva didn't mince words. "Tochi, I apologize."

Tochi was dumbfounded, but he said, "Uh...that's okay?"

"It's not, and you don't need to attempt to assuage my feelings," Malva said. "I'd appreciate it if you would be silent and let me tell you something."

"Go on."

"Hmph. Several years ago, I was a member of Team Flare. Are you aware of what that is? If not, they were a, to be frank, _evil_ organization whose goal was to rid to world of Pokemon to create more resources for humans."

" _What?"_ Sepal blurted, but Malva shot him a withering look.

"The past is behind me. Even if they were still around, I no longer support their goals. I left before they even disbanded, anyways; their methods became too extreme and their leader, too unhinged.

"My Pokemon joined me in my evil deeds. Pyroar, Torkoal, Chandelure, and Talonflame are loyal to a fault - especially the former. In fact, I think Pyroar's enthusiasm at carrying out miscreant deeds rivaled even mine. My only way of justifying my actions was to convince myself that a Pokemon's only reason to exist was to help serve their Trainer, and even this would not justify Pokemon for surviving Team Flare's weapon of ultimate power. I soon realized this was wrong, however, but I failed to notify my Pokemon that this was not a proper credo. I still paid it no mind."

"And now here you are, Tochi, breaking the law of what we once believed. Pyroar was appalled by you. How dare a Pokemon exist in this manner, not serving a noble master! And when you asked to join me, well, too little too late, and Pyroar did not want some wretch to intrude upon her beloved Trainer's team. And so...I sincerely believe that my Pokemon did not harm you on purpose, Tochi. She merely did what she thought was right. I will not take her off the team. But…"

Malva paused very slightly. "Tochi, now that you know who I am, you should not want to join my team," she stated. "I am not the 'role model' type."

"Maybe I shouldn't," Tochi agreed. "But...you came here to apologize. And I don't know if I'm a very good Psychic-type, but I feel like you told the truth. Malva, you seem like a good human...so I still want to give you a shot. I mean, if you'll still have me."

A smile flickered on Malva's face. "How good are your battling skills?"

"Probably messed up," Tochi predicted. "My hearing will throw me off. But I've got some new tricks up my sleeve."

"Excellent," Malva said. "If or when you challenge the Champion, I'll decide if you may join my team. I may have a soft side, Tochi, but that does not mean I cast out of pity."

She picked Tochi's Pokeball off of the nightstand and left.

~*Q*~

Campbell and the starters slept in the hospital room overnight.

It was just like a regular Pokemon Center room, Sepal thought, except for the fact that Campbell was there. Tochi was curled up on the bed, Campbell took the pillow, and he and Bub were lying on the ground. Just like normal. Everything was just fine.

A faint knock sounded on the door.

Sepal, the only one awake, heard it. Tochi usually would have picked up on things like that, even in his sleep. Sepal pushed the thought aside.

He got up and shuffled to the door. Peeking out, he was stunned to see Miss Shana outside. Sepal hesitated, but in the end he motioned for her to open the door.

Miss Shana did so. She looked at him, about to speak, but Sepal motioned for her to wait as he left the room and pulled the door shut with his vines. He didn't want to wake the others.

"Are you sleeping?" Shana asked, puzzled. "At seven-thirty in the evening?"

"Yes. We're tired. What is it?"

"Oh -" Miss Shana fumbled and released her Wobbuffet. "Woobie, translate, please? But be quiet, sweetie."

"Wa!" Wobbuffet saluted (quietly) and gave Sepal a cheeky grin. Sepal gave him a look, and the Wobbuffet hurried released his shadow and went to stand behind Miss Shana.

"What is it?" Sepal repeated.

Shana's eyes darted around the hallway. "How is Tochi?"

"Fine. We're going to battle the Champion."

"Even...after the accident?"

"We're not fragile, Miss Shana," Sepal said wearily. "I'm worried about Tochi too, but he's determined. He's going to do what he wants."

"I see," Miss Shana said. "Well then, that's all."

"Wait, really?"

"Well, um, also...I wanted to apologize, Sepal, hon - Sepal. I watched you three battle. You were quite capable."

"Bub beat a Gyarados."

"I saw."

Sepal was silent, so Miss Shana added, "I've resigned from my position at the Vaniville Starter Center…"

"Are you serious?"

"Yes. I don't think I understand Pokemon quite as well as I thought. I'll be a full-time receptionist there; a caretaker you might know, Damian, is the new president."

"I remember him."

Miss Shana took a deep breath. "We - that is to say, they - don't know how long the Center will last, though, with Pokemon running away left and right...to, well, entice Pokemon into staying, they're thinking of creating a system where the Pokemon and Trainer work together to choose each other. And they might allow Pokemon to go on journeys by themselves, but they'll make sure they can't be captured, of course."

"That sounds good," Sepal said. "Maybe I'll stop by sometimes and keep things from going out of control."

Shana lit up slightly. "Oh goodness, that would be wonderful."

A slightly awkward silence ensued. Finally, Sepal said, "Good night."

"Have wonderful sweet dreams, darling."

"Um...you too."

Sepal shambled back inside and closed the door, and Miss Shana recalled Wobbuffet. She hesitated, then left on her way back to Vaniville.

~*Q*~

The fight against the Champion happened a week later.

Instead of taking place inside the usual room in the Pokemon League, it was performed directly behind the mansion, where there was a huge field sometimes used as an arena. An amphitheater was set up so tickets could be sold. They sold out very quickly, though Campbell got a front-row seat without even having to pay.

It was the first time since Santalune where Tochi and Sepal diligently trained before the battle, though they trained all week instead of for an hour, and of course Bub was with them.

Tochi's hearing didn't improve - not by much, at least - but his accuracy was so good it was scary. Most of his shots hit the perfect weak point, provided he had a second to focus. He couldn't use Flame Charge very much because of this - the heat waves and the rush of energy messed up his vision. The impatient Delphox was actually slowing down.

Sepal kept Leech Seeding and Sludge Bombing things, throwing in a Petal Blizzard now and then for good measure. He still liked fighting up close rather than long range, so he worked on his own Grass- or Poison-type version of Flame Charge. (Covering himself in purple sludge and running into things didn't work so well.) He practiced his odd method of Mega Evolving but only managed it once.

As for Bub, she was shy around battling after what happened with Malva's Pokemon, but she soon got back into the swing of things. What really helped was her sudden adoration of TMs. As soon as she finally learned Earthquake and discovered she could cause minor natural disasters wherever she went, she was a lost cause. _Especially_ after she discovered how many TMs Empoleon could naturally learn. She made her a mission over the week to track down and learn as many moves as she could; Tochi would barely have been surprised if she left to another region right then and there because she had heard there was a cool TM in it.

Finally, the day of the fight arrived.

Tochi, Sepal, and Bub were cheered for by the crowd when they entered the arena, but when Diantha came in, they absolutely _roared._ Apparently, even a ragtag bunch of starters couldn't stand against the might of pretty human actresses.

It was all so foreign: having an important battle outside, on a bright, clear day, with an announcer advertising Gilmore's Skill Juice and a loud, excitable crowd and the Champion herself curtseying to them from the other end of the arena.

" **3, 2, 1…"** the announcer boomed. " **And we're off! Diantha releases her first Pokemon!"**

Her Pokemon was a Hawlucha. Tochi, Sepal, and Bub barely needed to look at each other.

" **And Tochi the Delphox starts off…!"**

Tochi glanced around and immediately spotted Malva in the front row. She still had his Pokeball, and she held it in a way that suggested she would go ahead and break it if that's what she felt like doing.

Hawlucha hadn't been wasting her time. She jumped around, performing a Swords Dance to boost her attack. Tochi watched her warily, keeping his stick out in front of him, as the announcer began to narrate their every move.

Diantha shouted something, and Hawlucha leapt into the air. She tried to use Flying Press on Tochi, but Tochi aimed his wand upwards and created a stream of bluish-white Will O' Wisp that started dissipating through the air. Hawlucha tried to glide away from it, but Tochi pursued her from the ground and kept firing Will O' Wisps. Eventually, she glided too low to the ground and fell through a patch of scorching hot air that burned her instantly. Hawlucha did a flip and landed quite agilely on the ground, considering her circumstances, but Tochi struck her with a Psychic and tossed her into the ground.

Hawlucha sprung into the air again; before Tochi could aim another Psychic, she landed on his head feet-first and started pummeling him with X-Scissor. In response, Tochi burst into flames. She was able to ignore them because she no longer feared getting burnt, so Tochi tried to hit her with Psychic again. Hawlucha jumped off his head and glided through the air to dodge.

Tochi kept his wand ready as if he was going to fire a Psychic at Hawlucha the very second she slowed down. To keep moving, she glided back and forth, showed off with triple- and and backwards flips, and lightly touched the ground, only to spring twenty feet into the air once she had built her momentum back up. However, the burn that Tochi had inflicted started to take its toll. Hawlucha soon confined herself to the ground to conserve energy, and at that point Tochi struck, unleashed torrents of flame on her until she was knocked unconscious from the heat. It wasn't really his favorite style - stand and wait for something to kick in - but it had gotten the job done.

" **And first knockout goes to the starters!"** The announcer blared. " **Who's next?"**

Diantha tossed a Pokemon into the air. A Tyrantrum materialized and slammed down on the ground, shaking the amphitheater.

"I'm up!" Sepal called. The announcer picked up on it and declared his entry to the stands.

"Oh! Sepal, wait!" Tochi called. The Tyrantrum realized his opportunity and started charging after Tochi. Tochi had barely enough time to create a glowing orb and hurl it into the air before the Tyrantrum stomped its feet, creating an Earthquake that sent him flying on top of Bub over in the waiting zone.

The orb flew high into the sky and started to shine more brightly than ever. Soon, the Sunny Day lit up the whole field and beyond. Sepal could feel the (albeit artificial) sunlight radiating through him and filling him with energy. "Thanks, Tochi!"

His ability, Chlorophyll, activated. Sepal was able to literally run circles around the Tyrantrum, who was no slouch in the speed department either. Sepal threw puffs of spores into the air and had the Tyrantrum poisoned, seeded, and Sweet Scented before he could even blink.

"Aw, come on!" Tyrantrum complained, sneezing out a mouthful of dust.

"Sorry, sorry!" Sepal was too hyper to pay attention.

The Tyrantrum smashed its foot into the ground again. The Earthquake caused Sepal to stagger and lose his momentum as he tried jumping over the shifting rocks in the ground. While he was down, Tyrantrum Head Smashed him so hard that both of them stumbled away from each other, muttering "Ow, ow, ow!"

Sepal recovered first. He activated Petal Dance, and the pink flowers started to swirl around him faster and faster in time with his Chlorophyll boost. Tyrantrum was in approximately the center of the field, so Sepal ran from corner to corner several times, sending Tyrantrum reeling. Finally, Tyrantrum crouched lower to the ground so that, when Sepal ran by like a freight train, Tyrantrum was able to rake his side with a painful Dragon Claw.

Sepal had to stop in the corner and use Synthesis, taking away the huge slash marks that Tyrantrum had left him with. He felt better, but now Tyrantrum had him cornered and was barreling towards him at full speed, jaws wide open. Now, not only was the sunlight fading, but Sepal's continued Petal Dance was making him awfully dizzy, so he knew he only had one shot.

As Tyrantrum closed in on him, Sepal summoned all his strength and threw himself to one side. He managed to roll, stagger, come up on his feet, and headbutt Tyrantrum as fast and hard as he could with the dying Sunny Day. The Petal Dance did its job, and as the Tyrantrum fainted, he let it drop. The sun disappeared, leaving him nauseous and tired.

" **Sepal has bested Tyrantrum! Who will Diantha choose now?"**

Diantha chose Aurorus. The graceful Pokemon seemed to ripple into existence as his Pokeball opened in midair. Sepal looked at him, remembering his first encounter with an Amaura, and decided he was too tired to deal with another one at the moment.

"Bub -"

"On it!"

" **Bub the Empoleon has entered the arena!"** announced the announcer. Bub didn't bother to correct them.

The Aurorus stood in place for several seconds, letting the sun glow through his sails and reflect flashy rainbow light onto the ground, before Bub got bored and opened up with a Flash Cannon. He yelled in outraged pain; Bub had forgotten, but the move was incredibly effective against a Rock/Ice type. She grinned.

"This'll make it fun!"

The Aurorus was angry, but also cautious. He flashed gleaming white and let a Light Screen start to build in front of him. Bub skirted closer to it as the Aurorus became distracted yet again, this time with the way the sunlight reflected through his sails, through his screen, and _then_ onto the ground. It gave that particular patch of the arena a beautiful psychedelic effect that Bub would have admired any other time. At the moment, she chose to throw her whole weight onto Aurorus' side and make him stagger to the right as she beat him with Steel Wing over and over.

Aurorus' flank rippled, and a Thunderbolt generated from the gems along his back threw Bub onto the ground. He hastily created a Reflect to go alongside his Light Screen, but after a few more minutes spent dodging Thunderbolts and howling Blizzards, the Light Screen flickered away. Aurorus stopped to repair it, and Bub called up a Surf and thoroughly soaked him, though she still didn't manage to knock him over.

He stilled for a second, and then seemed to panic. He flopped his neck around and shook himself like a Furfrou in an attempt to get his delicate sails dry. Bub saw this as an opportunity to use another Flash Cannon, but the Aurorus actually spotted her and managed to dodge in time; however, he tried calling up another Thunderbolt through his gems and ended up electrocuting himself. As Aurorus staggered around, Bub used a final Flash Cannon and knocked him out.

" **And there's Aurorus down...three for zero, amazing!"**

Diantha seemed to be smiling. She recalled her Aurorus and sent out...a pumpkin. A Average Gourgeist. She stared at Bub with glowing yellow eyes...and smirked.

"H-hey, Tochi...I know she's a Ghost-type, but, um…"

Tochi took Bub's place. Gourgeist's evil grin only grew bigger.

Before he could even pull his wand from his sleeve, she had vanished and reappeared inside his shadow. She didn't attack, though. She offered Tochi her hair tendril with an innocent smile.

"Um…" Tochi put one paw into his sleeve, trying to be subtle. It didn't work. She grew bored with waiting and bounced up to grab his arm herself.

Suddenly, Tochi found his gaze locked onto the pumpkin face on the Gourgeist's body. It rippled, glowing brighter and brighter until Tochi had to squint, but he couldn't shield his eyes with the Gourgeist hanging on his paw. It grew so blinding that he felt like he was falling into it. Then he _was_ falling, or at least it felt like it, and then he found himself in a swirling yellow-purple-gray void with his favorite Pokepuffs falling from the sky and the Gourgeist skip/hopped along, swinging his arm back and forth and back and forth and back and forth as she chanted, " _Come with me! Trick-or-treat! Come with me! Trick-or-treat!"_ in a high-pitched voice until he couldn't feel his arms and his legs were so cold they were melting into mist…

" _Ah!"_ And then Tochi was back in the arena, feeling horribly cold but back to normal. His shadow was empty and the Gourgeist bounced around in front of him as if nothing had happened.

He tuned in to the announcer for a second. " **And Gourgeist has used Trick-or-Treat on Tochi! Once the smoke clear away, you'll see that Tochi has now become part Ghost-type…"**

"Is that was you did to me?" Tochi asked Gourgeist in utter confusion. She giggled at him and sank into one of the many shadows crisscrossing the hard-packed ground.

Tochi looked down to find her, noticing at the same time that his fur had turned from red and orange to deep purple and lavender, and ghostly smoke curled off his shoulders and tail. He examined himself with fascination, but he was cut off as something sharply slammed into him from behind. Gourgeist's Phantom Force caused him to trip and fall, and before Tochi could fire at her, she disappeared into a different shadow entirely.

Tochi waited tensely for the next hit, clutching his wand in both hands. He tapped into his Psychic-type nature as much as he could and felt a buzz and a cold spot behind him. He whipped around and opened fire, and the Gourgeist cried - actually cried - as she was caught in the middle of a Fire Blast. Sniveling and charred around the edges, she sank back into the floor.

The next few minutes played out like Whack-a-Diglett. Because of Tochi's new typing, he was four-times weak to Ghost, and he felt every inch of that whenever the Gourgeist surprised him and landed a Phantom Force. On the other hand, sometimes he got the jump on her and hit her with a Fire attack, which always made her wail and generally throw a hissy fit before sinking into a shadow again. It was slow going.

Finally, Tochi remembered something: he knew a Ghost-type move too, right? Shadow Ball. He hadn't had much call for it, but being a Ghost-type himself, now was the perfect time.

He endured one more Phantom Force sneak attack from Gourgeist - they tied this round, both of them dodged the other's attack - and waited until she was inside the shadows to try out his plan. He formed a Shadow Ball between his hands and searched for one silhouette that was darker than the others. The second he spotted it, he fired his Shadow Ball at the ground. The Ghost attack seemed to be absorbed by the shadow in slow-motion; several long seconds passed before Gourgeist popped out of the ground like a screaming jack-in-the-box. He torched her with Flamethrower and prepared himself for the next time she attempted another sneak inside the shadows.

His Shadow Ball method worked exponentially better than his previous plan. He could tell when Gourgeist had fainted because his body tingled in a pins-and-needles sort of way and the Ghost-typing started to seep out of him in the form of smoke.

" **What a thrilling battle! Tochi won that round by the skin of his teeth!"**

Bub was able to feel the ghostly energy all the way from the waiting zone. She quickly volunteered over Sepal to fight Diantha's fifth Pokemon, her Goodra; not only because she had a move she wanted to try out, but because Tochi was still radiating cold as he slumped next to them. Not even the good, snowy kind of cold, but the I-can-watch-you-while-you-sleep kind of cold.

Goodra blinked at Bub lazily. She seemed lax, yes, but friendly - or at least she was less creepy than Gourgeist. Bub waved at her in the hopes that this battle would be fought in better spirits than the last one.

Then Goodra used Focus Blast.

"Oh, gre -" Bub used Aqua Jet to boost herself out of the way. At times like this, she missed the days before she became a Steel-type.

It wasn't all bad though. As Bub zigzagged through the air, Goodra switched to Dragon Pulse to improve her aim. The draconic energy hit Bub, but she wasn't particularly damaged by it due to her resistance. Her Aqua Jet felt like it was running out of steam, so Bub steered herself into Goodra's slimy head as she landed. The Goodra blinked sleepily, but she hardly seemed to have noticed. Unfortunately, at that point Goodra realized that Bub was just a few feet away from her. She switch to Focus Blast. Bub went flying.

She skidded to a stop after gouging a trench into the dirt for several feet. The Goodra, despite being far away from her and not having moved an inch, aimed a Dragon Pulse that forced Bub to activate Aqua Jet while horizontal on the ground and shoot away like a runaway rocketship. She managed to avoid the Goodra's barrage of attacks, but ascending sideways gave her a headache.

It was time to test out her new favorite move - one learned by a TM, to boot. Bub ceased her Aqua Jet and landed on her feet, making sure to slam into Goodra's head again, even though it didn't really do any damage. Before Goodra could charge up another Focus Blast, Bub took as deep a breath as she could and released a beam of icy cold energy. Ice Beam!

Unfortunately, despite the awesomeness of her new attack, it didn't do as much to the Goodra as she wanted it to. Her Ice Beam needed some help. Rolling out of the way of another Focus Blast, Bub conjured a Surf from nowhere and splashed it all over Goodra. As soon as she was positive the Dragon-type was soaked through, she tried her Ice Beam again. Success! Goodra froze solid.

After that it was a matter of making Goodra faint before the ice cracked. Bub started firing an endless stream of Ice Beam that both built onto the ice sculpture and - hopefully - damaged the Pokemon inside. She wasn't actually sure what she was doing, so she started bobbing her head in circles and whistling through her beak, which made pretty spirally designs on the block of ice (which was quickly getting really, really tall.) She got so absorbed in her art that she forgot where she was for a minute or two.

" **Um...Bub?"** the announcer eventually called. " **We're reasonably certain that Goodra has fainted by now…"**

Bub broke off her Ice Beam with a gasp. The inside of her beak was almost completely numb. "Oh...sorry!"

Diantha recalled her Dragon-type, and Bub helpfully used Scald (another new and super fun TM) to melt most of the ice away. She went back to her seat as the announcer tried to build some of the previous tense excitement back up.

" **And now...Diantha has but one Pokemon left, and you all know who that is! The illustrious Gardevoir with a very special gift!"**

Diantha released her Gardevoir. It floated to the ground elegantly, locking eyes with and smiling at each of the starters in turn.

Sepal felt something...strange in his gut when Gardevoir made eye contact with him. Maybe it was her Psychic powers rubbing off on him, but he felt a serious case of destined-to-be. And he wasn't scared, either. He was excited.

"I'm going out there," Sepal murmured.

"Type advantages, Sepal." Tochi was quick to remind him. "You sure?"

"She's a Fairy. I'm part Poison." Sepal grinned. "She's got nothing I can't handle."

Cheers rose around him as Sepal walked across the battered arena. Many of them knew what Sepal could do, and they knew what was coming.

Sepal closed his eyes.

 _She's Fairy. I'm Poison. Her other typing doesn't even matter._

 _Even if it does?_

 _I don't care._

Light started at the crown of his flower and surged downwards. In seconds, Sepal had Mega Evolved, and the audience was screaming.

Diantha just smiled. "Gardevoir, let's show him that the bond between a Trainer and her Pokemon is stronger than a bond between a Pokemon and...himself, huh?"

"Oh, I know a bond like that can be stronger," Sepal called, his voice slightly lower pitched than usual. "But right now's all about how _good_ of a battler you are."

"A girl can have more than one of those things, can't she?" Gardevoir said serenely as she too started to glow. Diantha clasped her Mega Charm, and...

Mega Venusaur faced down Mega Gardevoir. "I suppose she can. Are you confident that you do?"

"Certainly."

Mega Gardevoir put her fingertips together. A Moonblast swirled into life in her hands, but Sepal didn't give her the opportunity to fire. He spat a Sludge Bomb at her and could hardly believe his luck when he saw her cheeks tint purple with poison almost immediately. Mega Gardevoir sighed sorrowfully as she delicately fingered her dress, which was now covered in a layer of poisonous sludge.

"And to think...I thought we could be friends."

"We still can, if it's only your dre -"

A monstrous Psychic blew up in his face. Sepal dug his vines into the dirt to avoid being hurled backwards by the blast. He responded with Petal Blizzard, which Mega Gardevoir defended against by simply shielding her face with her forearms.

Mega Gardevoir frowned suddenly as she ran her hand down the length of her opposite arm. She came across a seed embedded in the flesh. "Leech Seed? I knew you preferred this technique, but I did not you you perfected a method of attaching one to me without moving an inch."

"I figured out how to blow the seeds around along with the petals in Petal Blizzard," Sepal said, keeping the pride out of his voice. "It's useful."

"Indeed."

They attacked at the same time - Psychic versus Sludge Bomb - but neither of them let up. Acid droplets and glittering particles of energy exploded in all directions with each impact. Gardevoir occasionally tripped him up by switching moves out of nowhere - a Thunderbolt that paralyzed him, or a Moonblast that made him stop and blink the shine out of his eyes.

Mega Gardevoir's attacks were far stronger, and one or two direct hits with her Psychic could quite possibly finish Sepal off. But his advantage was the Leech Seed and the poison coursing through his opponent's system. All he had to do was outlast her. He just needed to stay standing.

Suddenly, a Psychic froze Sepal in place. He tried to move to no avail, and Mega Gardevoir effortlessly lifted him with a wave of her hand. With the other, she singlehandedly charged a ball of Psychic energy.

" _Au revoir,"_ Mega Gardevoir said smoothly. Sepal continued to struggle.

But as she pulled her hand back to unleash the Psychic, her fingers twitched. Then her face. Then poison was overtaking her, Sepal realized, and he helped it along, draining her through the Leech Seed with all his might.

As she struggled to stay standing, the Psychic around him flickered and died. He landed heavily on his feet and stepped towards Mega Gardevoir. She blasted him with Psychic attacks as he approached, but there was no heart put in it; all her energy was consumed by the poison. The look in her eye said, _Good match._

Sepal used Vine Whip, and Mega Gardevoir fainted.

The audience was screaming, but for a moment his heart was pounding too loudly to hear a thing.

Both Tochi and Bub ran across the field to join him. Sepal de-evolved and just looked at them, dazed but deliriously happy. Bub was jumping up and down and hugging him, and her shininess made her whole body sparkle brightly. Tochi was pointing to something, and Sepal looked.

It was Malva. She nodded approvingly as she met their gaze and slipped Tochi's Pokeball into her pocket.

It was only then that the starters registered the announcer's voice.

" _ **Ladies and gentlemen, we have our winners! Tochi, Sepal, and Bub have beaten the Champion of Kalos!"**_

~*Q*~

 **A/N: Just...wow. That is a lot of words. I have nothing to say.**

 **It's not over yet, however! Tomorrow, on the very last day of November, will come the epilogue. (It** ** _better_** **come tomorrow, anyways.) We'll wrap things up there.**

 **But for now...** ** _au revoir!_**

 **~*Q*~**


	28. Is It Over? It's Finally Over, Right?

**A/N: Warning: Being an epilogue, this chapter is short and sweet. Hope you guys aren't disappointed...with some of the reviews I've been getting, it feels like the pressure's on! Thank you so much, though!**

 **And with this, I have successfully completed NaNoWriMo. More on that below.**

 **~*Q*~**

 **Three Months Later**

Sepal stood at the gate of the Vaniville Starter Center.

Being back was _weird._

Professor Sycamore had kept him busy over the past few months - traveling, Pokemon research, and trying to figure out exactly what the heck was up with Sepal's Mega Evolution. As the professor put it, he was baffled by how all their knowledge was still eclipsed by what they didn't yet know.

Honestly, Sepal didn't really mind if his Mega Evolution stayed a secret for a while. He liked traveling around just for the sake of it (and Sycamore had a Charizard, so they could skip all the less fun parts like Route 17). Now that he had official Champion status, there were even some new areas to explore that he had never seen.

But now he had taken leave, so to speak. And the first thing he did was visit his old home, the VSC.

Sepal walked around the red-brick building. That was the same as he remembered, at least, but the posters advertising " _Do you want to be a future Champion? Apply for a Pokemon today!"_ had been taken down. As he walked, he made sure to wave through the windows at the receptionist.

The pastures behind the main building were different, though, or at least the fence was. The fireproof chain-link wall was gone. In its place, a simple two-rail wooden fence with big slots in it. It was still coated with fireproof material, but that seemed like more of a safety precaution than anything. Heck, there was even a gate in it now, with locks accessible from both sides.

"Hey!" The starter Pokemon inside saw him and ran to the gate. He saw some of his old acquaintances, Pokemon that had been there before he and Tochi had made their escape, and felt dizzy. He had forgotten how big he had grown, and how small a Bulbasaur was.

"Hi guys," he said, lying down outside the fence.

Everyone was talking at once. "Sepal, we heard! You guys were so cool! I'm gonna on a journey of my own!"

Sepal didn't talk much, just listened to them prattle on and answered the occasional question. He hoped that the fact that leaving wasn't so taboo would encourage them not to run away for the heck of it. All they had to do was ask a human, and they would get their own Pokeball and a little bag with food and money, as well as a scarf signifying that they were not wild Pokemon. A Froakie even let Sepal know that some of the local wild Pokemon were getting in on the act, most notably a Fletchling that had come all the way from Santalune Forest.

"I have to go," Sepal said finally. "I have a meeting later today."

Everyone groaned and complained, but Sepal just waved and turned to go. With luck, he'd have more time to visit whenever he needed.

"Oh, wait!" a Treecko blurted. "Sepal. Will you show us how you Mega Evolve?"

"Yes!" Everyone enthusiastically agreed.

"I dunno…" Sepal said slowly. "Mega Evolution is kind of serious. And it's really hard to pull off."

"Aww…" The starters were disappointed.

Sepal kept hesitating. Then his face split into a grin. "What the hey, I'll do it anyways!"

~*Q*~

"This turns on the screen, and this turns it off," Nurse Joy said, pointing to the buttons on the PC. "You're all set up, so just turn it off when you're done, okay?"

"Will do!" Bub said. "Thanks."

"No problem." Nurse Joy went back behind the counter. The Lumiose Pokemon Center was having a busy day.

Bub hung around the PC for a few minutes, fiddling with the Pokemon-to-human translator hooked up by her mouth. It was itchy.

An old man appeared on the screen. Bub lit up. "Professor Rowan!"

The Professor coughed. "Bub. I believe you've made it safely to Kalos?"

"Yup." Bub nodded. "I'm in Lumiose. Sepal should be flying in with the professor, and then we'll walk to Centrico Plaza together."

"Good, good. Come back to Sinnoh soon."

"I know, Professor. It's only a couple days."

"Hm. You know, Bub, when you get back to Twinleaf - how do you feel about being a teacher?"

"Me?" Bub asked, surprised.

"Yes. The starters at the new center here are young and quite restless. They'd do well to have someone to look up to."

"I don't know," Bub said nervously. "I don't feel like I'm done exploring Sinnoh yet..and I'm not sure that I'd make a good role model."

"You'd do a fine job, Bub. Think on it, if you will."

"Okay..."

"I'll see in three days."

Bub waved as Professor Rowan abruptly turned his screen off.

A teacher...She had been traveling Sinnoh for two months before Professor Rowan invited her to Twinleaf. She worked as a consultant between the people and Pokemon for a while, as they worked on building a second Starter Center - one that had the Pokemon's needs in mind right from the beginning. She had to admit it was kind of a fun job. But did that mean she'd have to settle down in Twinleaf rather than continue her journey?

Someone knocked on the window. Bub grinned as she saw Sepal waving at her with his vine.

"Good to see you again!" she squealed as soon as she was outside. "Ready to go?"

"Definitely."

~*Q*~

Tochi was hanging around Prism Tower when Sepal tackled him to the ground in a hug.

"Tochi!"

"Sepal! Bub!" He wiggled around until the Venusaur let him up for air. " _So_ happy to see you. Bub, how's Sinnoh?"

"Cold."

"Sounds awful," Sepal quipped.

"No, it's - oh, you know what I mean. But if you guys thought Mamoswine Road was bad, there's this other route that I'd love to show you!"

"How's training, Tochi?" Sepal asked, deftly avoiding the invitation to a route he probably did not want to know about.

Tochi leaned back against Prism Tower. "Well, I keep asking Malva when she'll let me join in on an actual challenge, but she just keeps saying 'eventually.' So for now I'm stuck sparring with Torkoal."

"Are you okay with that?" Bub asked.

Tochi's eyes sparkled. "Are you kidding? I'm having so much fun! Sepal, how 'bout you?"

"Work's pretty cool. We discovered a couple of Mega Stones from Unova a few weeks ago," Sepal remembered. "There's one for Audino and one fo-"

"Hey, it's them!" a random Trainer said. "Those Champions!"

"Still getting recognized?" Bub said as a small crowd started to form.

"Yep," Tochi said.

"At least you don't leave the Pokemon League much," Sepal sighed. "People know me no matter where the Professor and I go..."

"Do something cool, you guys!" a little girl - was that Clemont's sister? - urged.

"Welllll…I haven't had a real battle in a while," Tochi said thoughtfully. "Unfortunately, I don't have an opponent."

Sepal glanced at Bub. "Free-for-all three-way battle, ally against Tochi?"

"Come on!" Tochi complained.

"I mean, you are being personally trained by the Elite 4."

"At least disallow Mega Evolution."

"Fine, fine."

"I'm fine with Mega Evolutions," Bub put in.

"That's because you're immune to Sludge Bomb."

Someone overheard Bub - she had forgotten to take her fancy new translator out. "Woah, wait, are you guys gonna battle?!" The crowd started to grow as the humans cheered excitedly, and passengers stopped to see the commotion. Bub was pretty sure she heard some bets being made.

"All right!" Tochi pulled his wand out and twirled it dramatically. "I hope you're ready for battle, guys."

"Actually," Sepal remarked, as Bub started giggling, "I think it's already started."

"Huh?"

"You've already been Leech Seeded."

~*Q*~

 **A/N: And that's a wrap!**

 **So first things first, I'd like to tell you guys that I'm dedicating this story to my grandpa, Papa Bob, who died on November 19th, 2015. He was a journalist and an author all throughout his life (though I doubt he wrote fanfiction). He even has several books published.**

 **The final stats for The Vaniville Voyage Adventures are: twenty-eight chapters, two hundred and five Google Docs pages, and seventy-seven thousand, one hundred and seventy words, not including author's notes. That's far over my initial goal, 50,000 words, and I can't believe I finished VVaV in time at all! So my very first NaNoWriMo has turned out a resounding success, if I can say so myself.**

 **Thank you, readers and reviewers who stuck with me throughout the month. Seriously, I can't express my gratitude enough! Without you I would have procrastinated the whole month away. You're all awesome!**

 **Finally, yes, there are some regrets that I have over being on such a time crunch towards the end of the month. They range from minor (not having a random wild Pokemon beg to join the starters' team) to slightly more major (not adding Bub before Ramos to give her more time for character development). I won't list all of them here, though, and in the end I won't go back and edit my story. It's finished, it's my testament to a month well spent, and I'd like to preserve it the way it is.**

 **See you all in the next story!**

 **~*Akirys*~**

 **~*Q*~**

 _An Arceus floated in a swirling, starry void._

" _WHY HAVE YOU COME HERE?" it boomed. "ARE YOU PRESUMPTUOUS ENOUGH TO COMMAND A FAVOR OF LORD ARCEUS ITSELF?"_

" _Funny you should mention," Campbell said, twirling his tail in his paws. "Would you happen to know Judgement?"_

~*Q*~


End file.
